Children-the future of tomorrow

Maria Montessori best known for her philosophy of education has rightly said, “Children are human beings to whom respect is due, superior to us by reason of their innocence and of the greater possibilities of their future.”A child of today is future of tomorrow. By birth every child have infinite store of potential and have the capability to mould the destiny of the nation.It is necessary and utmost important for a nation to channelize it towards goal orientation. Development and upliftment of children is very important step especially for those who belonging to lower section of the society. Investing on them in their premature years will provide a foundation for future achievement with life long benefits for the entire nation. It has been seen that poor children too perform well if they are provided with the right education, right financial assistance. I have witnessed a lot of children in fact they have high level of efficiency in terms intelligent quotient (IQ) but due to destitution of financial resources it becomes tough for them to carry on their process of education. The country India has progressed leaps and bounds from last few decades but still far away in delivering a secure future to millions of children. Child exploitation is increasing at it’s alarming rate after the post covid period.It is considered as serious social menace mostly prevalent in developing countries, but has equally been a global issue. Decades have rolled down, societies have shown progress in almost every sector, literacy rate has enormously increased but child labour has not abated and continues to haunt human societies across the nations. The situation is deteriorating day by day despite the laws which exists to prevent as well as to eradicate the exploitation of the children but on the ground there is no significant improvement. There is in fact no dearth of laws related to the eradication of child labour but the lack of conviction on the part of countries has put the poor children in deep paradox and no serious efforts have been taken to end this human catastrophe.
Due to poverty and economic confrontation the country Bolivia becomes the first country to legalize the child labour.It is now engrained in Bolivian culture. According to data from Census 2011, the number of child labourers in India is 10.1 million of which 5.6 million are boys and 4.5 million are girls.In the country India these poor boys don’t get the opportunity to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and psychology.The national survey of India estimated the total number of child labours aged 5 to 15,to be at 12.6 million, out of a total child population of 235 million in the 5 to 14 age group. The increased gap between the rich and poor, privatization of basic services and neo-liberal policies are major causes of child labour. Child labour is not just an affront to the rights of child but also a symbol of a society that has lost its way. We should therefore all strive to ensure that the fundamental rights of children are protected and that they are accorded the opportunity to go after their dream and aspirations. I summarise all this with the beautiful saying’s of Noble Prophet “One of the most basic factors in the development of a child’s personality is sociability and proper treatment.”
(The author is a freelancer. Views are his own)
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