CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday released the Tamil Nadu State Policy for Children (TNPC) which envisages a multi-pronged approach to protect children’s rights and a comprehensive action plan for implementing the initiatives.
“The Tamil Nadu government articulates its commitment towards its children with the current policy, 2021, thereby assuring that all children in the state shall have an enabling milieu for their growth and development, and that their rights will be guaranteed throughout their childhood,” the policy said.
An exclusive multi-sectoral advisory group will be constituted at the state level for the implementation of the policy and further monitoring. Further, Tamil Nadu will regularly do a child budget analysis to allocate adequate resources based on the emerging needs of children, assessment of outputs, outcomes, indicators on various aspects that fall within the ambit of this policy.
The policy will be revised every five years by reviewing the outcomes / impact achieved in the said period through an evidence based appraisal and indicators of Sustainable Development Goals. It is expected that increased programmatic collaboration will strengthen system-wide coherence at all levels. The goal areas, change strategies and enablers outlined in this policy will help deliver lasting results for children, bringing the state closer to realizing the vision of its constitutional agenda, a land in which no child is left behind.
The TNPC said the government will take all obligatory actions to guide and apprise stakeholders on all laws, policies, plans and programmes concerning children. The document represents a call for action to prioritize child protection on the state agenda. The policy envisages that all actions and initiatives in the state in every sector will respect and uphold the principles, provisions and intent of this policy.
The TNPC will be put into action by developing a comprehensive Plan of Action (PoA). The overarching objective of this policy is to ensure prevention and protection of children from all/any form of violence particularly from vulnerable sections.
The PoA will be drafted based on consultation sessions and inputs from different government departments and bodies, civil society organizations, academic institutions to work towards common results and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals indicators. This will be done whilst encouraging child participation. The plan of action will encompass a multi-sectoral frame work of convergence and response measures for effective delivery of outcomes.