Sashastra Seema Bal to adopt orphan kids, train them for border watch
In a women & child ministry project, Sashastra Seema Bal will train young orphans and deploy them at the border.
In Short
- Commission for Protection of Child Rights in talks with SSB to facilitate career of orphan kids.
- SSB expected to adopt child care centres falling under their watch.
- The force will soon start training orphan kids in Assam.
Orphaned and abandoned children across India's 9,000 child care institutions now stand a chance to serve the country as the Centre and the defence forces have decided to train the youngsters to guard the borders.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is in talks with the Sashastra Seema Bal to facilitate the career of kids residing in child care institutions of the country.
According to NCPCR officials, the border guarding force will adopt such asylums falling in areas under its watch.
"When they came to know about the existing child care institutions in their jurisdiction, the officials have shown interest in adopting these kids," said Rupa Kapoor, member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) that comes under the ministry of women and child development.
"The commission is heading in this direction so that when these children come out, they have a chance to lead a dignified life. This is the first time when an armed force has decided to come on board for facilitating children without any guardian," Rupa told Mail Today.
NCPCR has been tasked with preparing a list of children falling in the age group of 15-18 who will be trained under a module of skill development.
TRAINING TO START IN ASSAM
The programme will include providing medical facilities and counselling to the children who want to join the Sashastra Seema Bal. The SSB has already decided to start the training in Assam.
The process is likely to include children from West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and other border states.
The commission is dividing children into different age groups and based on their developmental requirements they will be given bank loans through a central scheme to enable them to pursue their career.
The Sashastra Seema Bal, the central armed police force operating at the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders, has also confirmed that it will train children as a community centric measure.
'A STEP FORWARD'
"We will train the deprived and often destitute orphans with the assistance of NCPCR to become a part of armed forces," a senior SSB official told Mail Today. "This is a community centric move with long-term planning for the children by enhancing their basic skills."
The armed forces watch over the community in general by teaching essential abilities but this is a step forward by bringing orphaned and abandoned children into the ambit, the official said.
The commission members maintain that this move comes in the wake of lack of rehabilitation of kids at child care institutions and is expected to have a positive impact on the youngsters, stopping them from turning to criminal activities.
The NCPCR has proceeded with a list of children in Assam and the SSB is likely to initiate the training next month.
RANKINGS FOR CHILD CARE INSTITUTIONS
"Abandoned children usually end up with no career path. This move, for the first time in India, will witness physical training and grooming of a child to help him or her serve the country," said an official from the ministry.
"There is immense pressure in the ministry to rank child care institutions on the basis of their functioning," said Rakesh Srivastava, secretary at the women and child development ministry.
"We will soon prepare an index of these institutions based on the facilities made available to the orphan kids, tidiness in the vicinity and the treatment that is being meted out to the kids."
The child care institutions in the country will soon be ranked as platinum, silver and gold.