BENGALURU: Children sleeping on the floor, torn blankets, no beds, male wardens at girls hostels, cooks doubling as security guards —these were some of the findings in a study conducted by the Karnataka Child Rights Commission a few months back. The report, is expected to be submitted in a month’s time.
Last year, a study was conducted by the Commission in 112 hostels run by various departments, including Social Welfare, Education, Women and Child Welfare, Minority, among others, wherein wardens, parents and children participated. Many of these hostels lack basic amenities and safety measures. The study revealed that at as many as 71 per cent of the hostels, wardens do not stay back, whereas they are supposed to stay with the children. A few hostels don’t even have wardens.
Other issues like poor lighting at night makes it difficult for the children to study. During power cuts, which are frequent, especially in the summer and monsoon, children at 29 per cent of the hostels depend on candlelight. These children are from economically-backward families, who do have cell phones. The children find it hard to communicate with their parents as most hostels do not have phones. Lack of hot water and proper health care units are also problems faced by the children.
The study also revealed that at 54 per cent of the hostels, there are one-five children living in one room, while at ten per cent of hostels, one can find more than 10 children in one room. Officials involved in the study said they chose fewer number of hostels, and if they did study more, many other issues would have come to light.
Antony Sebastian, chairman, Child Rights Commission, said they had printed the report some time back, but it was incomplete. Now, the full report is being printed, and will be ready in the next month.
In fact, one of the earlier Cabinet decisions after BS Yediyurappa took over as CM was to increase intake in government backward hostels. However, the situation at most of these government-run facilities is dismal.
Article 27 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC ) states that children and young people should be able to live in a way that helps them reach their full physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social potential. For this to happen, they should have access to adequate food and housing. Pointing this out, Nagasimha Rao, director of Child Rights Trust, a Bengaluru-based NGO, said this is not followed in most places. “Children are voiceless and concerned authorities don’t take much interest in them as they are children,” he said.
