Patna: The minimum age of marriage for girls should be increased to 20 from the present 18 because parents often start looking for a match before the daughter turns 18 which causes mental stress among girls and they start neglecting their studies, Neelam, a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Patna, said at the Assembly's annex hall on Monday,

She was speaking at a conclave that the social welfare department organised in collaboration with the Women Development Commission (WDC), the Bihar Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and Unicef Bihar to mark International Children's Day.

Children like Neelam who took part in the conclave raised many important issues that impressed the audience.

Kajal, 13, said instead of giving money for buying sanitary napkins, the government should distribute napkins among girl students, and there should be a forum where adolescent children can discuss with adults the bodily changes they are undergoing.

Aryan Kumar, 15, said teachers should educate students about government schemes and schools should be given funds to clean toilets.

Class XII student Namita said students in rural areas could not benefit from the student credit card scheme and the government should provide the facility at the village level and extend the scheme for Class X students too.

Legislative Council chairman Haroon Rashid, Bihar State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Harpal Kaur, WDC managing director N. Viajayalakshmi, and Unicef Bihar programme officer Shivendra Pandya were among those present at the event.

Pandya highlighted the value of involving children in planning of schemes from the village level, and cited the Gram Panchayat Development Plan in Maharashtra where children and women were actively involved in the planning process leading to better results in stopping dropouts, child marriage and child labour.