Street children collect garbage on Friday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Jan. 16: The social welfare department is preparing an action plan for the city’s street, destitute and abandoned children.

The plan aims at providing basic services and protection measures and would ensure enrolment and retention in primary school.

This was showcased in the State Plan of Action for Children (SPAC-2003) prepared by the Assam government. It seeks to co-ordinate the activities of different departments to achieve convergence and produce maximum results in the field of child development.

The plan stated that the department is giving special priority to Guwahati among all other cities in the state as it has the largest number of street children. A significant proportion is from immigrant families. However, there are no figures available.

“There is an impression that the numbers of abandoned and street children have increased following the disintegration of communities caused by ethnic and communal clashes in recent years,” the plan observed.

The departments of social welfare, labour and education would be involved in implementation and monitoring of the action plan. Municipalities, police, non-governmental organisations and the private sector would also be involved in the plan.

The objective is to protect and provide basic services through preventive and rehabilitative measures to children deprived of parental care or separated from their families, such as orphans or abandoned, runaway and displaced children.

The action plan will have to carry out a survey of the number of abandoned, orphan or destitute children enrolled in and attending school and receiving other basic services.

Apart from it, the number of abandoned, orphan or destitute children receiving protection and legal services would also be recorded.

Officials said all government and non-government functionaries would have to be trained on legislation and programme strategies related to street, destitute and abandoned children.

“The task is difficult as we would have to ensure that all street, abandoned and destitute children gain admission into regular schools and are adequately supported so as to prevent them from dropping out,” an official said.

The source added that schools would also have to be prepared to deliver education services relevant and sensitive to the needs of vulnerable children.

A state-level co-ordination committee would be formed for implementing and monitoring the action plan. The chief secretary is its chairman.

The Assam state branch of the Indian Council of Child Welfare has opened six centres in the city for some 300 street children in the age group of six to 16 years.

Nearly 670 children have been covered till date and the services provided to the children are non-formal education, vocational education, midday meals, medical facilities and rehabilitation. Apart from the ICCW, there is a number of NGOs working in the area.

The childline service, a telephone service, was launched by the Assam state branch of the council for reaching out specially to children who need care and protection. It has received a total of 174 cases in different categories like repatriation, shelter, medical help, missing children and abuse since its inception.