For corporal punishment, a jail term of up to a year is being proposed in cases of simple injury and emotional distress to the child. For subsequent offences, it would be three years. A second conviction would also mean dismissal from service.
A five-year imprisonment has been proposed if a child is grievously hurt orsubjected to severe mental trauma. A repeat of such an offence would invite a seven-year term.
Corporal punishment affects almost every other child in India. A 2009-10 survey by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights among 6,700 students in seven states saw around 99% of them confirming punishment at the hands of their teachers.
Tough measures have also been proposed to check severe ragging — up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of Rs. 10,000 or both. Ragging by an institution’s staff would put them at the risk of dismissal and a bar on working with children in the future.
The women and child development ministry has also proposed a new section in the law to cover ragging inside as well as outside the institution.
The tough new provisions are intended to also protect children in government-run childcare centres. The jail terms proposed are higher than those under the Indian Penal Code.
The proposed changes, which were shared with the states last month, also provide for a three-year jail term if children are pushed into any religious service that hampers their “holistic development”.
“The aim is to put a check on converting children into religious slaves, such as devdasis,” said a senior government official. The level of the crime would be decided by the juvenile justice board in each district of the country.
A five-year imprisonment has been proposed if a child is grievously hurt orsubjected to severe mental trauma. A repeat of such an offence would invite a seven-year term.
Corporal punishment affects almost every other child in India. A 2009-10 survey by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights among 6,700 students in seven states saw around 99% of them confirming punishment at the hands of their teachers.
Tough measures have also been proposed to check severe ragging — up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of Rs. 10,000 or both. Ragging by an institution’s staff would put them at the risk of dismissal and a bar on working with children in the future.
The women and child development ministry has also proposed a new section in the law to cover ragging inside as well as outside the institution.
The tough new provisions are intended to also protect children in government-run childcare centres. The jail terms proposed are higher than those under the Indian Penal Code.
The proposed changes, which were shared with the states last month, also provide for a three-year jail term if children are pushed into any religious service that hampers their “holistic development”.
“The aim is to put a check on converting children into religious slaves, such as devdasis,” said a senior government official. The level of the crime would be decided by the juvenile justice board in each district of the country.
