On 25th February 2017, a National Consultation and Launch was initiated on the issue of operationalising POSCO or the protection of children from sexual offences' law and Child Rights' Education (CRE) in schools. It was organised by the Association of School Counsellors and Allied Professionals in technical collaboration with Expressions India.
With an increase in sexual offences against children in our country, it is necessary that children must be made aware of their rights. It is also imperative on the part of parents, teachers, civil society and the administrative machinery of the government to ensure that children be made aware of POCSO to keep themselves safe from any act of sexual offence.
The event was well attended and excellent ideas emerged for discussion. Prof. (Dr.) Kavita Sharma, President South Asian University, New Delhi, initiated the dialogue by bringing out the demographic disparity and the lack of acceptance of some of the real challenges that exist. With this, Ms. Sharma set the tone of the seminar.
The seminar was split into 3 sessions and a clear agenda laid down for each session. The first session focussed on child rights' education in the backdrop of the National Policy of Education. This session was chaired by Dr. Jitendra Nagpal, eminent counsellor and Programme Director, Expressions India. Several speakers in the brought out the essential points of POCSO and CRE. Participating in the seminar, Prof. Saroj Yadav, Dean Academic NIE, stressed on the need for everyone to clearly understand the rights of children. Ms. Geetanjli, Director National Legal Service Authority, presented a power point on the various provisions of the POCSO Act. It was read in conjunction with the JJ Act, RTE Act and Rights of Children. She emphasised that laws would are of no help unless operationalised.
In order to make various laws relating to the child operational, it is crucial that the mindsets of people be changed and in this context, the role of parents and the school becomes vital. Schools are in a position to make children aware of their rights through discussion and by complementing the efforts of parents in this direction.
The session after the tea break stressed on the role of the school management and principals in implementing the POCSO Act. It elaborated the role of teaching and non-teaching staff in this context. Essential features of the JJ Act, in the context of the psychological profiling of children, were also discussed.
Post lunch was a panel discussion. The esteemed panelists were Prof. J.L. Pandey (former head of NCERT and founder of NAEP), Ms. Nishi Mishra (Principal of Scindia Kayna Vidyalaya, New Delhi), Shri Premoday Khakha (Assistant Director, Department of Women and Child Development, New Delhi) and Dr. Toshendra Dwivedi (Assistant Prof. Department of Psychology, Amity University). The topics under discussion were-
1. Our understanding of child rights' education and mental health. 2. Best Practices and implementation of CRE 3. Techniques to improve the awareness among teaching and non- teaching about CRE. 4. Challenges in CRE
The session ended with plentiful ideas and ways to promote CRE in schools. It was finally agreed that a joint effort is required consisting of parents, teachers and the community at large, to bring awareness. Schools must hold special classes, conduct debates and distribute write-ups on the essential features of POCSO. A comprehensive roadmap was drawn up to promote training programmes for skill-building on POCSO in the backdrop of Child Rights.
It was also brought out in the seminar that there must be a robust mechanism in all schools so that children can freely lodge their complaints, discuss their grievances and also receive suggestions in the case of sexual offences.
This seminar was a great effort. Looking at the way a large number of people that participated in the seminar, the importance of CRE cannot be undermined. With initiatives such as this, the exercise one is sure to motivate a positive turnaround.
Ms. Sunita Singh.
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