CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu State Child Protection Academy conducted its maiden training session on Wednesday engaging officials from various departments concerned. An official associated with the academy told TNIE that the institution would be officially launched in the coming months.
A first-of-its-kind institution in the country, the academy has been created to strengthen the government workforce in various departments dealing with child protection. The decision to set up the academy was announced in the Assembly session on September 1. The UNICEF, Department of Social Defence, Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment, and State Resource Centre would be playing major roles in the formation of the academy.
Speaking during the inauguration of the session, Department of Social Defence Director S Valarmathi said, “The academy is the first one in the country to educate the workforce, functioning in coordination with other departments, on various laws and schemes of the governments. In the future, the academy would be announcing courses and successful candidates would be eligible to apply for job opportunities in departments concerned with child welfare.”
She added that the areas of focus would be to train the workforce on how to better the system and how to bring up children as law abiding citizens. Referring to the impact of pandemic on child welfare, the official said there has been a rise in instances of children taking drugs, school drop outs, child marriage and labour. “One department alone cannot handle such issues. Coordination is needed and the workforce must be equipped to handle different challenges, so that all the schemes and laws are implemented absolutely on the ground,” she said.