By Dr S Saraswathi
Child Rights Manifesto has suddenly appeared when elections for Legislative Assembly in four States and one Union Territory are due to take place in April. Prepared and released by a group of civil society organisations working in the field of child welfare and addressed to parties contesting Tamil Nadu Assembly election, its demands and the contents are relevant for children across the country. It mentions a number of persisting problems known and repeated on several occasions like female infanticide, declining sex ratio, malnutrition, school drop-out, child marriage, child labour, and so on.
But, the manifesto has not dealt with the universal problems of children living under epidemic threat-cum-control measures that are in force. Universal because they are faced and debated in many countries. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic and of the various mandatory measures imposed for fighting it will doubtless affect the future of children unless remedial measures are simultaneously taken.
When the entire world has had been gripped by a panic mood caused by the pandemic, nobody can be blamed for over-application or under-estimation of the effects of the instruments used to stem the tide of the disease. The effects are becoming visible forcing us to think of ways of mitigating social-economic-psychological consequences of the global war against COVID-19. Both short-term and long-term consequences will be felt by children and adolescents that may make life different for the next generation. Remember – the pandemic war is being fought in the field of normal daily life from which no individual, not even a new-born infant, can escape.
According to the Children’s Rights Division of the Human Rights Watch, around 1.5 billion students are affected by school closure, child labour, hunger, recruitment to army, child abuse, child marriage, etc., which are all increasing under direct and indirect impact. In places already in need of special child-centred policies, these maladies have escalated. School closure is the main reason for spread of social problems.
Of course, COVID-19 has no power to physically destroy schools and colleges like natural disasters such as earthquake and flood or emergencies like war and armed conflicts. But, it can and has been effectively spoiling school education and all educational activities. It has posed a big challenge to teachers and students engaged in the task of learning and to educational managers to conduct institutions without physical presence of givers and takers of education.
School closure means that most children lose social contacts necessary for learning. Digital learning is a challenge for both children and parents. Digital teaching is a challenge for teachers and becomes a major stress factor for all. Lockdown restrictions effectively cut the space for children of all social-economic groups. There is a growing concern in many States in India about children in deprived groups who suffer more and most likely to lose interest in schooling. It will be difficult to re-awaken their interest in school education.
For a country with a huge population of first generation students in schools, for educational administration trying different means to reach 100% enrolment of school-age population, for the governments under pressure to offer several incentives to arrest drop-out, COVID-19 is the worst enemy confronted so far in their mission. The disease is literally killing education – particularly school education. The lower the grade, the greater is the adverse impact. Cases of kids forgetting whatever they have learnt and beginning once again with alphabets and numerals are common.
In short, education today is confronted with a new danger of “exclusion” resulting from COVID-19 restrictions. It implies growth of new inequalities. These are aggravated by poverty and lack of opportunities. The pandemic fight has exposed the intensity of structural imbalances between rural and urban areas, male and female, and rich and poor in the digital world.
To be specific, on-line education unleashed today does not reach all students in equal measure. Many States and many governments do not have the resources and infrastructure needed to provide on-line education to all students. Digital divide has to be bridged at the earliest before irreparable damage is done. All governments have to frame policies and programmes for a realistic on-line education.
The report of the NSSO (2017-18), reveals that only 8% of households with children in the age-group 5-24 years have both computer and internet facilities. Households with access to computer vary between 4.6% in Bihar to 23.5% in Kerala and 35% in Delhi. In Delhi, Haryana, HP, Kerala, Punjab, and Uttarakhand, more than 40% households have access to internet. As a contrast, less than 20% households have this facility in Odisha, AP, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, and West Bengal.
In Madhya Pradesh, hardly 30% had access to on-line education when it was introduced. In tribal belts, reaching the students in many blocks was extremely difficult. No wonder, on-line education encourages drop-out in such areas. In many States like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand, schools and colleges were totally unprepared to provide on-line education and had to start making special preparations and will naturally lag behind in inter-State comparison.
There is also the risk of exposure to inappropriate on-line content and on-line predators. Needless to mention the plight of children of migrant workers, street children, children in refugee camps, and displaced children whose access to adequate standard of living is already poor.
Cancelling examinations and granting promotions without testing are necessary to keep students and teachers within the educational system, but not for promoting genuine education. Governments have to understand this without being swayed by emotional considerations and desire to remain popular.
The UN Commission on Human Rights Commission has noted that the pandemic can have grave physical, emotional, and psychological effects on children, especially in countries which have enforced mandatory stay-at-home and limited travel permits, and for children in situations of vulnerability. Across the world, children are affected by physical distancing, quarantines, isolation, mask-wearing and other prescriptions and undergo severe anxiety, boredom, and uncertainty.
Several immediate social-economic impact on children directly and child protection risks that are emerging daily due to measures taken to prevent and contain the virus have been experienced. The psychological impact of life under threat of the pandemic will last long in the minds of the young. In fact, deep impressions made during childhood remain fresh in the memory of the old.
Fulfilling the agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030 as originally planned seems impossible with the huge additional burden imposed by the pandemic. Societal inequalities further multiplied under COVID-19 increase the difficulties in realising children’s existing rights. Under these circumstances, our concern for children in vulnerable conditions and marginalised groups, and children with disabilities are likely to diminish because of practical difficulties and resource constraints. They have to be covered with appropriate safeguards like other children as part of the future generation.
The pandemic and related restrictions are capable of reversing the progress made in child rights. If child-centred policies and actions are not adopted urgently, current and next generation of children will have to bear the brunt of COVID-19 pandemic response measures with far-reaching negative consequences.—-INFA
( The writer is former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)