WORKING WITH ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES FOR

CHILDREN’S RIGHTSCHILDREN’S RIGHTS

WHY???

• BUILDING POLITICAL SUPPORT

• BRINGING ISSUES, SOLUTIONS AND • BRINGING ISSUES, SOLUTIONS AND POLITICAL WILL TOGETHER FOR POLICY ACTION

• SEEKING ACCOUNTABILITY

WHY ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES IN PARTICULAR?

• THEY REPRESENT CHILDREN AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE

• THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO CHILDREN FOR RECOGNISING, PROMOTING AND PROTECTING THEIR RIGHTSRIGHTS

• THEY MAKE / INFLUENCE LAWS AND POLICIES

• THEY PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN BUDGETARY PROCESSES

• THEY CAN MONITOR GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND SEEK ACCOUNTABILITY BY RAISING ISSUES

NATIONAL LEVEL

WORK WITH ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AT

NATIONAL LEVEL

STATE LEVEL

LOCAL LEVEL

NATIONAL LEVEL

MONITOR PERFORMANCE IN PARLIAMENT

• WHO ARE THE CHILD FRIENDLY PARLIAMENTARIANS / POLITICAL PARTIES?

• INVESTIGATE WHAT THEY DO WITH THEIR SPECIAL FUND?

• ARE THERE PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES RELATED TO CHILDREN’S ISSUES? WHO ARE THE CRITICAL MEMBERS IN THEM?

PROVIDE THEM WITH INFORMATION ON CHILD BUDGET, SITUATION OF CHILDREN

DRAW ATTENTION TO NEGELCTED AREAS AND AREAS OF CONCERN

INTERVENE IN POLITICAL PARTY MANISFESTOES DURING

ELECTIONS

SPECIAL MENTION

The 93rd Constitution Amendment was enacted by Parliament last year to provide free and compulsoryeducation to all children of age of 6 to 14 years. The Cabinet appointed Tapas Majumdar Committee had assessed the amount requirements for this purpose at Rs.13,700 crores at 1996 prices. The 93rd

Amendrnent Bill stated in its financial memorandum that the requirement, would be Rs- 9,800 crores. However, the Planning Commission provided for the current financial year a total amount of Rs. 4,667 crores for the entire Department of Elementary Education. This amount is altogether inadequate. A single scheme of the Department, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, needs Rs. 7,350 crores annually. The Kothari Commission had recommended that at least 6 percent of GDP should be allocated for education. During the last decade however State investment in Education declined from an all time high of almost 5 percent of GDP in 1991 to 3.6 percent of GDP in 1997-98.

I, therefore, urge the Government –

HELP DRAFT QUESTIONS AND INTERVENTIONSI, therefore, urge the Government –

i) to provide at least the amount mentioned in the 93d Constitution Amendment Bill for universalisation of elementary education in the next budget and

ii) to ensure Education of a reasonable quality for the children of socially and economically weakersections and not to foist upon them the so called "non-formal" or "alternative education' with open-airschools that have no facilities and underpaid and under-qualified "barefoot" teachers”. This will notbe any meaningful Education and will defeat the letter and spirit of the 93rd Constitution Amendment.

AND INTERVENTIONS

STATE LEVEL/LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT

BUDGET ANALYSIS

MONITOR PERFORMANCE OF

•STATE LEGISLATORS•MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT REPRESENTING THE STATE •LOCAL SELF GOVT. REPRESENTATIVES•LOCAL SELF GOVT. REPRESENTATIVES

MONITOR IMPLEMENTATION OF SCHEMES / PROGRAMMES

IDENTIFY CHILD FRIENNDLY LEGISLATORSAND PARLIAMENTARIANS

PROVIDE THEM WITH STATE LEVELPROVIDE THEM WITH STATE LEVELINFORMATION SO THAT THEY CAN INTERVENE IN PARLIAMENT & STATEASSEMBLY

WORK WITH CONSTITUENTS TO HOLD THEIR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ACCOUNTABLE IN THEIR CONSTITUENCIES

BUILD A POLITICAL MANDATE BUILD A POLITICAL MANDATE FOR CHILD RIGHTSFOR CHILD RIGHTS

REMIND ELECTED REMIND ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES THAT REPRESENTATIVES THAT REPRESENTATIVES THAT REPRESENTATIVES THAT

CHILDREN ARE NOT CHILDREN ARE NOT VOTERS TODAY BUT WILL VOTERS TODAY BUT WILL

BE TOMORROW!!!BE TOMORROW!!!