Offences being committed by juveniles is becoming more serious, heinous in nature: NCPCR chief

The nature of offences being committed by juveniles is becoming more serious and heinous, NCPCR chairperson Stuti Kacker said today, in the backdrop of the killing of a student by his senior in a Gurgaon school last year.

The National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson also called for "firmer control of private schools".

"Crimes against children and crimes being committed by children are increasing. Getting a child out of crime is a difficult task. The nature of crimes by juveniles is becoming more serious and heinous in nature," Kacker said.

It is crucial to prioritise safe and supportive environments for children as they grow up so that they can become productive members of an inclusive society, she said.

 

"We had recently put up a regulatory framework for private schools. When the Ryan school (Gurgaon) incident happened (last year), in which a boy was allegedly killed by an older boy, our members ensured that the FIR was registered against the school's authorities.

"There should be firmer control of private schools," Kacker said.

She also said government schools have more accountability and people feel scared of tackling private schools.

The NCPCR chairperson was speaking at the launch of a report titled: 'Reaching the Last Child: Evidence from Young Lives India'.

The report recommended that the Right To Education (RTE) Act needs to be extended to cover all children in the ages of 3 to 18 years.

It is equally important to ensure elementary and secondary school curricula to provide relevant and quality education to equip children with the necessary literacy and life skills, the report said.

It also highlighted how paid work and more than three hours of daily domestic tasks at the age of 12 correlates with discontinuing school, and stressed on providing support to the poorest families to help protect their children from discontinuing education.

The report draws upon fifteen years of evidence captured by the Young Lives study in India, which followed the trajectories of 3,000 children across two cohorts (older and younger) in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

It deals with the issues of childhood poverty, educational trajectories of children and youth and marriage and fertility of the older cohort and highlights determinants of child marriage and teenage child bearing.

The report said social protection should be provided for the poorest households to address persisting inequity between socially advantaged and disadvantaged households.

The provision of safe hostels at the secondary level for children from the poorest and socially, and remotely located located families could help girls to stay in school longer, and make secondary education accessible for the child, the report said.