|  | | Labour Commissionerate | | Labour & Employment Department, Government of Gujarat |
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| | HomeSchemes Child Labour State Action planChapter – 3 Programme ComponentOperationalisation of child labour special schools | | Operationalisation of child labour special schools | | In view of the crucial role of education in prevention and elimination of child labour, a component of education is provided in the project. As the working children are from diverse backgrounds, skill and experience, it is important that the children in the special schools are imparted education on a formal / non-formal pattern with a condensed syllabus for a maximum period of three years after which the children are expected to reach a level of 5th standard. The children are also to be imparted craft and pre-vocational training as considered appropriate to their age. After completion of formal/non-formal education, the children are expected to join the formal stream of education in the 6th standard. Some children, who are capable of being mainstreamed before the completion of three years of education, could be encouraged to be mainstreamed earlier than the prescribed maximum period of three years. Flexibility in this regard could be exercised by the concerned NCPL. The choice of Vocational Training should be available to those children who wish to take up skill-based work after the initial training in the special schools. Apart from education, children are also provide with a package of welfare inputs such a supplementary nutrition and health-care through special schools to meet their special needs.
Focus of enrollment should be on children in the age group of 9-14 years. The working children in the lower age group should be motivated to join formal school system (primary and upper primary) directly.
The curriculum, course content and textual material should be finalized at the District/State level by associating the SCERT, DIET, DRU and non-governmental organizations working in the field of child labour and other related areas. The State Government/District Child Labour Project Societies have the freedom to decide the ground conditions. The training of volunteers in the form of a brief orientation programme should be organized at the district level with the help of DIETs and DRUs.
Considering the nature of work the children are employed in, it is necessary to ensure that the special schools are run in manner so as to effectively prevent children from working in prohibited employment and enable them to be mainstreamed into the regular education system. Therefore, the Project Societies/Implementing Agencies are permitted some amount of flexibility, in terms of timing and duration of the special schools with a view to ensure reduction in the number of children going to work.
The child labour project has a specific time frame and it will not continue indefinitely. The teaching volunteers for the special schools and other staff of the project society should be engaged with the clear understanding/agreement that they will be paid only a consolidated amount of honorarium for their services which are more or less voluntary in nature and in no case be considered permanent. No regular scale of pay is prescribed. There should not be any centralized system of recruitment of teaching volunteers at the district head quarters level. The volunteers should be from the local community/village to be selected and engaged by the Implementing Agencies / NGOs. The main criteria for their selection would be their commitment to the cause of community service. Minimum level of qualification of the teaching volunteers could be prescribed by the project societies.
The timing and the duration of the Centres are flexible. The timing of the centres should be adjusted to suit the convenience of the children who are the target group under the project. While the duration of the special schools could be around five hours a day, the duration of duty of each of the project personnel / volunteers should not exceed five hours a day to enable them to work elsewhere also. While deciding on the timing, duration and working hours of the volunteers, the project society must keep in view the convenience of the target group and the objective of the project, which is sought to be achieved.
If a situation arises where building and other infrastructure for the special schools are not available in a particular area in the district, the special schools could also be run in the buildings of the regular schools after the regular school hours. | |
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This page is last updated on : 12/7/2010
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