BENGALURU: The Child Rights Trust has written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging the government to prioritise child protection in the 2025-26 state budget. The trust has highlighted key concerns, including internet safety, mental health support in schools, rising child pregnancies, child marriage prevention, and better facilities for children with disabilities.
In the letter, Director of the Child Rights Trust, Nagasimha G Rao, emphasised that children’s welfare must be a central focus of Karnataka’s 2025-26 budget, aligning with the National Child Policy 2013, which recognises children as national assets.
The trust highlighted that as children are spending increasing time online, they are at greater risk of cyber threats, addiction, and exposure to harmful content, and pointed out that while some countries have introduced strict regulations on children’s internet usage, Karnataka has yet to take concrete steps. The trust has urged the CM to direct education, health, and police departments to work together on awareness programs, digital literacy initiatives to protect children from online dangers.
The trust, indicating serious gaps in awareness and protection mechanisms with reports of child pregnancies rising, has stressed the urgent need for comprehensive sexual education in schools.
“Increased funding is required to support the rehabilitation of child survivors and ensure strict enforcement of the POCSO Act,” the letter said. While the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act recognises 21 types of disabilities, many disabled children in Karnataka remain out of school due to lack of resources and trained teachers, the trust said, demanding a higher budget allocation for special educators, home-based learning programs, and tailored textbooks for visually and hearing-impaired children.
Early detection of learning disabilities should be prioritised, along with better rehabilitation and therapy services, the director in the letter mentioned.
While the government recently appointed PU college principals as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers, the trust has pointed out that they need better training and incentives to carry out their duties effectively and has urged the state to allocate funds for awareness programs and enforcement efforts to prevent child marriages, the practice that is still continuing across the state.