CHENNAI: As the state gets ready to go to polls, children whose voices were hardly heard, given that they do not constitute a vote bank, released a manifesto on Thursday.
The manifesto, brought out with the support of Child Relief and You (CRY), an NGO, would in the next couple of days be presented to leaders of various political parties. John Roberts, programme head - south, CRY, said, “In the last elections, not a single party in Tamil Nadu had any provision for children in their manifesto. This time, we hope the voices of the children are heard, even though they do not constitute a vote bank.”
And the tales of struggle that the kids shared were heartwrenching. Ajantha (10) from Ramanathapuram walked 8 km every day to reach her school. She said, “I wake up at 5 am every day so that I reach school on time.” It takes her four hours to cover the distance. “Out of the 78 children of school-going age in my village, many dropped out. We need a bus. It will help us study better,” she added.
Kumar (14), who belongs to the Arunthathiar community from Thevarkulam village in Tirunelveli, dropped out of school while in class VII as his teacher verbally abused him, citing his caste. He said, “I want schools to be free of caste barriers, so that people like me are not forced to drop out.” Kumar worked as a JCB Cleaner.
The child rights manifesto underscored the need for compulsory equitable quality education for all. It demanded that child labourers be brought into the formal school system, PDS be universalised and a State Child Rights Commission be instituted. Krishnamurthy, AGM - development support, CRY was present.