While children almost universally agree that education is important, a third of respondents in India (28 per cent) said their school is only "sometimes" safe (in line with the global finding of 31 per cent), stated the report conducted by NGO ChildFund Alliance.
Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale today released the survey report which takes into account the views of 6,226 children aged between 10-12 years from across 41 countries including 31 developing nations like India, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Zambia among others.
The children also raised concern over issues including first aid facilities, corporal punishment and bullying, it said.
In India, children defined safety at school as having a clean and safe building, having proper preventive security measures in place, ranging from 'out of bound' areas, to protection from strangers and supervision by teachers.
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Almost two-thirds of children in developed countries (64 per cent) said education is important because it would allow them to get a good job when they grow up, compared to 40 per cent of children in developing countries, the survey said, adding that 45 per cent of respondents in India said so.
It said 23 per cent of children described feeling safe as not being the target of physical or emotional abuse or violence, with many children referring to corporal punishment and 'no bullying'.
"We want to promote children's participation in decision-making and our Child-Friendly Accountability framework is a step in this direction," Neelam Makhijani, National Director of ChildFund India, said.