PADI Stakeholders Meet held on 15th November 2019 at Roshni Nilaya and the Training Module SATHWA released. This is a distinctive Program that PADI Funding Organisation Represented this Program. Ms Sabine Riedinger, Representative fromBftW Germany and Mrs Annie Jayaraj, Programme Consultant from Vijayawada visited PADI on 14th& 15th November 2019. This Programme is organized by the PADI Board Members and team. Dr Jayantha H President presided over this Programme, Key Note addressed by the Secretary & Executive Director Mr Renni D’Souza, PADI Team led the Dialogues and Mr ThukaramEkkaru, Treasurer of PADI, Ms B.M. Rohini, Mr Mohanchandra, Dr Shobhadevi were present in this Programme.

PADI-VALORED Project working in the concept of Child-Friendly School and Panchayaths in the selected 52 Government Primary Schools and 15 Grama Panchayaths of Dakshina Kannada & Udupi, these Stakeholders meet organized. In this meet Representatives of Children, SDMCs, Teachers, Panchayath PDOs, District & Taluk SDMC Coordination Committees, NGOs were present. It’s really great to know the experiences, understandings, knowledge, leaderships developed in the stakeholders and the depth of concept and reflection to carry out the objectives of PADI VALORED. We are really proud to have such stakeholders with us.

Also, this Project strives to overcome many issues which were the main drawback to give quality education in the school environment. Specifically, we can say teacher Ratio, School Development &monitoring by SDMCs, infrastructures in school, teaching and learning performances of children, midday meal aspect. Though these are simple words to listen, there are so many problems which directly affect and hinder the child’s overall growth and reduction of children in Government Schools. Project structured to rise up to create Child-Friendly Environment in schools and Child-friendly Society. The outcome of different programmes, efforts initiated by the Project resulted to bring change in the thoughts of the community.

One of the initiations the Training Manual for School Development Monitoring Committees of Government Primary Schools. Model Training to selected 52 schools to become effective in observing the changes, thus a Manual of this Training in the Kannada Language has been produced by PADI for the use of School-based SDMC Training “SATHWA” was released on 15th by the BftW Representative Ms Sabine Riedinger. In her words, she expressed that there is a need for intervention in the field of Primary Education in Government schools of India. PADI’s strategy to be extended to the Karnataka state and the necessity of the involvement of the community, SDMC and other stakeholders together only it is possible to see the strong and positive changes. She appreciated the efforts of all stakeholders, Project team and especially the children group like Child Rights Cultural Group, child Rights club, Children Parliament Representatives, Meena Club, office bearers and members of Education ERCs and its Federations.

SATHWA Training Manual is available, it can be used by the Trainers for the effective training of the SDMC to bring quality change in the Government Schools of Karnataka. The Trainers’ training will be provided by PADI.

Interested please contact PADI Research & Training Centre padirtcentre@gmail.com.

PAFRE People’s Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education conceived as a movement to align under one large entity as individuals, groups and networks which needs for building powerful civil society pressure group to bring in to realization of the dream of common school ‘System Of Uniform Quality Education’ to all children of the country. The beginning of this movement a State level Convention held on Stock Taking of RTE Implementation. Many dignitaries, Educationists, thinkers were joined together to discuss the various issues related to RTE Implementation in Karnataka. Please refer State Level Convention Report.

The passage of the Constitution (Eighty-Sixth Amendment) Act 2002, education in India has become a fundamental right of every child. Article 21A of the Indian constitution guarantees Free and Compulsory Education to all children of the age group of six to fourteen years. In ensuring the constitutional right of Indian children to school education, separate legislation was enacted by the Indian Parliament i.e. the Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. This act came in to force from 2010 April. It’s been 9 years over; still, the RTE act implementation is far from satisfactory.

PADI is Working for the Quality Education in Government Primary schools and the keen attention is been given by involving with the Education Department, Grama Panchayath, School Development Monitoring Committees and so on related subcommittees, in the selected 52 schools of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.

With an extent, through the PAFRE it’s been expanded the initial work to the 4 regions of Karnataka i.e. Belagavi, Gulbarga, Mysore and Bangalore, where the promoters for Right to education are raised up to oversee the status of education. Regular training, awareness, exposures were given and the interest group strives to support the implementation of Right to Education in the respective villages.

This is possible only through the SDMC members and these stakeholders have the main responsibility to monitor the School development aspects and the learning performance of children in their respective schools.

For more photos click RTE promoters training programme Gallery

THROUGH THE INTERFACE PROGRAMMES PADI, MANGALORE STRIVES TO UPHOLD THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a legally-binding international agreement setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of every child, regardless of their race, caste, colour, religion or abilities. The UNCRC consists of 54 articles that set out children’s rights and how governments should work together to make them available to all children. Under the terms of the convention, governments are required to meet children’s basic needs and help them reach their full potential. Central to this is the acknowledgement that every child has basic fundamental rights. These include the right to Survival; Protection; Development; Participation.

Right to Survival includes Right to life; the highest attainable standard of health; Nutrition; Adequate standard of living; A name and a nationality.

Right to Development includes Right to Education; Support for early childhood care and development; Social security; Right to leisure, recreation and cultural activities.

Right to Protection includes freedom from all forms of Exploitation; Abuse; Inhuman or degrading treatment; Neglect; Special protection in special circumstances such as situations of emergency and armed conflicts, in case of disability etc.

Right to Participation includes Respect for the views of the child; Freedom of expression; Access to appropriate information; Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

All countries that sign up to the UNCRC are bound by international law to ensure it is implemented on November 20, 1989. This is monitored by the Committee on the Rights of the Child. India too signed and ratified the UNCRC, on 11th December 1992 agreed to Protect Children’s Rights.

India enacts a number of progressive legislation and formulated policies to address the imperative child rights issues. Some of the key legislations that have been enacted to protect the rights of children

• The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005
• Child Marriage Prohibition Act of 2006
• The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
• National Food Security Act, 2013 for provisioning of food grains
• Juvenile Justice Act (Amendment) 2015
• Child Labour Prohibition & Adolescent Act (Amendment) 2015

And some Policies & Guidelines: –

• Child Right Grama Sabha Order (Karnataka ) 2006
• Circulars on Child Rights Club 2007/2009/2011.
• NCPCR guidelines on Corporal Punishment in Schools 2015
• National Children Policy in 2013
• Karnataka Child Protection guidelines of -2016
• National Education Policy 2019

There is a need to ensure the voice of children in decision-making to promote active citizenship among them and also to improve the system’s accountability. Children should be made aware of the processes through which they can participate in the decision-making processes. They also have the right to organize themselves into groups that can represent them at various forums.

Along with the realization of Nations rules and acts to keep respect children, since 2006 Karnataka Government to validates the children participation through implementing Child Right Grama Sabha. This is a great opportunity for children in participating Gramasabha with all respective Government Officials where they can raise their issues. Initially, this Child Right Grama Sabha was taken place for namesake, it was observed most of the taluk level Government officials in the Grama Sabha were absent, but on behalf of them, they send their subordinates who are not decision-makers. This caused the raised issues of children were on records and not been given respect to their voices.

Children can raise issues affecting not only them but also to the Society to strive for a better world. So the INTERFACE programme of PADI really provided a platform for CHILDREN & to Government OFFICIALS, People’s Representatives and Development thinkers too.

2018-19 INTERFACES programme the Children Representatives of Child Rights Clubs, School Parliaments, and Meena Clubs, of Project’s selected schools of UDUPI & Dakshina Kannada Districts. The children succeeded in raising voices for their concern with thousands of doubts and many issues.

In this Interface, Government Department Personnel and the representatives of Child Protection Authorities, viz., Taluk Panchayath Executive Officers, Panchayath raj Department, Block Education Officer, Education Department, District Child Protection Units, Police Department, Health Department, Labour Department, Child Welfare Committee, Social Welfare Department, CHILDLINE, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, Public Welfare Department, Women & Children Development Department, Forest Department, Revenue Department, MESCOM/Karnataka Electricity Board were presented.

We would like to share some of the Impacts of

Sullya Jattipalla School Issues set righted within 2 days, One of the Interface Programme of PADI Project Area at Sullia Taluk, held at Taluk Panchayath Meeting Hall on 30th October 2019. In the presence of Taluku Panchayath Executive Officer, Block Education Officer, Women & Child Development Officer, District Child Protection Officer, Bar Association President, KSRTC Depot Manager, Police Department, Forest Department Officer, CHILD Helpline, Officer of Health Department, Social Welfare Department Officer, Sullia Children Interface Programme took place. Out of 33 questions asked by children to all departments, 2 issues were set right within a week time. Interestingly Bar council President is one of the members of Town Panchayath, who put forward the issue of children to the town Panchayath President,

1. Drug menace is rampart among children

2. Due to water leakage in the tank of Nagara Panchayath that flows through the school ground continuously since 8 years, the children are not able to use the playground which is an important part of the school in developing and practising sports and physical activities. Though these issues were bought to the notice by the teachers to Nagara Panchayath, this issue is not taken seriously.

Children requested the concerned authorities to set right this issue and pleaded to create an environment-friendly area, supportive to play and walk without any hindrance and inconvenience.

Soon, within 2 days, the President along with Deputy Commissioner visited this school, inspected the campus, documented the issue, and on the same day DC ordered and replaced the water tank and arranged separate water tank for the school.

They also visited all the small shops and vendors nearby the school and warned not to sell drugs and forbidden items to the children.

In some of the Villages of Sullia, the buses not stop for children in their particular stop though they showed their Bus passes, ignoring the children, in response the issue was noted by the KSRTC Incharge and the keen attention were taken and now the Bus conductors stop and behave with children with comportment.

Children insisted Police Department personnel attend the Child Protection Committees of Schools, and they should know the ongoing, problems of children and time to time should give the awareness from the department related to child protection and their responsibilities, to have the trust of Child-Friendly Police. It was agreed by the department and insisted teachers, to send the Meeting notice in time.

In one of the schools, they pressurized Panchayath, to provide Games/Sports materials to the schools, since they do not have sufficient and important ones. Taluk Panchayath Executive Officer agreed to provide the same at the earliest.

Such many issues which were already asked by the School Teachers, SDMCs were not fulfilled, but the Interface Programme, really a successful one, to get the benefits which Government provides to the schools, students in time, with quality and the involvement of the entire department to create a child-Friendly atmosphere in the school campus.

Except that the following questions are general in all taluks,

1. Irregular electricity supply to the village that it affected studies of children, especially in classrooms; they are not able to listen to Radio – Nalikali Programme.

2. Lack of adequate and sufficient no of buses is an unsolved problem in the rural area-non provision of KSRTC Buses to rural Areas

3. Horrible and danger are general experiences to the children in all the season due to poor Road Facility.

4. Scarcity of clean water for drinking, toilet and midday meal preparation, hand wash

5. Inadequate teachers affected the low quality of education for children.

6. The dilapidated condition of the School Building is caused by unsafe and no protection for children for their life.

7. Lack of School infrastructure affected the child-friendly and joyful atmosphere

8. Absence of sports materials and related play courts as well physical teachers are not available for children to develop their skills, talents and hobbies.

9. Computers, Science lab & Library, to develop their skills

10. Provision of School Uniforms and Books in out of the standard time.

11. Poor quality of bicycles

Community-owned Education Resource Centres and its Federations of 2 districts will take follow up of the issues, resolutions, and advocate the issues to the Taluk Panchayaths to discuss in the Karnataka Development Programme Agenda, wherein all the elected representatives of Zilla and taluk panchayath, taluk level officials will be there in the meetings.

PADI will monitor the Federation and ERCs effort on this and give guidance whenever necessary and keep the keen track to give respect to children’s voices.

For more photos click Interface programmes PADI Gallery

Child Right Grama Sabha meetings of Karnataka is decentralized system of Government for Rural areas in India called the Panchayath Raj Institutions is the experiment at a state level in extending the right to children as per the UNCRC agreement i.e. Right to Participation includes, Respect for the views of the child; Freedom of expression; Access to appropriate information; Freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

PADI’s intervention from the beginning for Quality Education, Child Rights and their Protection as model Projects’ strived to advocate that Grama Panchayath has to play the role to bring changes in Government Schools, so it had started its programme in the beginning that Grama Panchayath Education Centre, which is jointly started to work on these in the 8 taluks of Dakshina Kannada & Udupi in the year 2005-08. This Grama Panchayath Education Centre consists of representatives of SDMC, local CBO, Teachers, Anganawadis workers; Primary Health centres workers, Children Representatives. Issues were identified in the general meetings were all the points of Advocacy to the concerned Department including education, school development and the village development aspects are also the highlights of the meetings. The result of this Government too. In 2014-17, very especially with the concept Child-Friendly Schools and Child-Friendly Panchayath. With stakeholders, i.e. children, Parents, Teachers, SDMCs, People representatives, Grama Panchayath, Child related Government line departments, the 3 years Project served to bring changes in the atmosphere of selected schools and Panchayaths of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.

2017-20 to work on our concept Quality Education in Government Higher Primary Schools; our targets are Members of Grama Panchayath, children, school teachers, School Development Monitoring Committee, Community owned Resource Centres, School Children Clubs, Education Department and Women & Children Development Department and the authorities State child Rights Commission, DCPU, SJPU and CWC.

We have chosen 15 Grama Panchayaths in both districts to work towards the concept as a model in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts. Mainly PADI concentrates to build child labour free village and to create a child-friendly environment with full of freedom and Right to participation for the overall development of children without any discrimination, exploitation etc. Project see that no child to be out of school and see that the children under the Panchayath are enrolled in school. It is important to provide social justice through education. Also, stress that child rights to be protected by the civil society and the capacity of understanding of this to be built in everyone.

By keeping mind the children and their rights, PADI oversees the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. … ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age groups. The main purpose we opted Panchayath that to

1. Review the structures of Integrated Development Plans for children and their Policies.
2. Encourage them by Giving Awareness on Right to Education Act and Free & Compulsory Education Policy.
3. The different committees which are working for education and Child rights to be served on the concept of Child-Friendly Environment.
4. Encourage local governments to create sub-committees to work for Child Rights, Children Education, non-violent, free of exploitation, health facility and to supplement the entertainment for children.
5. To Make available of Child related documents of reality status data, documents
6. To organize Children Grama Sabha to give recognition to children opinion and voices.

For more photos click Child rights grama sabha Gallery