Nagaland pushes school admission for children involved in begging

Kohima, July 16: In a significant move aimed at protecting the rights of underprivileged children, the Directorate of School Edu-cation, Government of Nagaland, has issued an official advisory to identify and enrol children involved in begging, into government schools. The notification dated June 17, follows the advisory issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for the protection and rehabilitation of impoverished, uneducated children, women, and differently-abled individuals engaged in begging.

The advisory, signed by Principal Director Shashank Pratap Singh, has called upon members of NGOs, municipal, town and village councils, churches, student unions, and the public to report details of such children to the child helpline number, 1098, to facilitate their enrolment in the nearest government schools.

The Department of School Education specifically seeks to identify out-of-school children aged 6-14 years who are not enrolled or have dropped out of school before completing elementary education, including those found begging. It also seeks to identify children aged 3-6 years whose parents are engaged in begging and are not enrolled in preschool, Anganwadi, or Balvatika centres.

All District Education Officers, Sub-Divisional Education Officers (SDEOs), and senior SDEOs in Zunheboto district have been asked to coordinate with the District Child Protection Units and Child Welfare Committees to ensure admission of such children as per the provisions of the Right to Education Act, 2009.