THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has intervened to curb the practice of parading school children under the scorching sun for long hours in connection with various events held outside the school campus. The rights panel has issued an order placing strict conditions on the participation of children in rallies and processions taken out mostly during occasions such as Independence Day or Republic Day.
In the order, Commission member Reni Antony recommended that rallies taken out in connection with events such as Independence Day and Republic Day should be held between 8 AM and 10 AM when the outdoor temperature is relatively bearable for children. Besides, arrangements should be made to ensure that school children are placed at the beginning of the procession with elected representatives and other dignitaries following them.
The Commission directed the secretaries of general education, local self-government institutions and urban affairs, and the director of general education to ensure that the ‘best interests of the child’ are always protected whenever they are taken out for such programmes outside the school campus. The officials have been asked to submit a report on compliance with the recommendations within a month.
The child rights panel’s action comes in response to a complaint by Sreekumar Anandan, whose daughter is a student at Girls School, Karungapally in Kollam district. According to the complaint, many children of the school fainted during an Independence Day rally last year due to prolonged exposure to the scorching sun. The rally, organized by Karunagapally Municipality, allegedly failed to provide the promised food and refreshments to the participating school children.
In response to the complaint, the District Education Officer of Kollam clarified that the school arranged a vehicle to distribute drinking water to the children. However, due to the large number of participants, food could not be arranged for all of them.
The Karunagapally municipality secretary informed the Commission that more students turned up for the rally than expected, making it challenging to arrange sufficient food. Nonetheless, the local body provided light refreshments to the students. The school headmistress said though she was informed that the rally would begin at 9.30 AM, students could participate in it only by 10.30 AM.
When the complainant’s views were sought on the officials’ version, Sreekumar pointed out that the children reached the schools at 7.30 AM and were under the scorching sun till 1 PM when the programme finally came to an end. He told the Commission that most of the claims made by the officials were false.
While issuing the order, the Commission noted that inordinate delays in connection with such programmes involving children were ‘unjustifiable’.