Odisha based blogger and journo bagged Laadli Media award

Bhubaneswar:The 8th Laadli Media Awards for Gender Sensitivity 2016 (Northern and Eastern Region) were given today at a function at Chinmaya Mission in New Delhi today. Odisha based writer and social activist Naba Kishor Pujari bagged this award in the Print Article category from Eastern Region for his writings on gender sensitivity and equality.

Organised by Population First, and supported by Colors TV and UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), the Laadli Media Awards are given to recognise efforts by those in the media and advertising Agency industry who work to ender gender prejudice.

The awards have been given since 2007 is one of the Prestigious Awards in India for media and writer fraternity and every year Population first is reaching new heights in terms of success of the programme as well as the applications received for the Award. The guests of honour at this year’s event were Diego Palacios, country representative of UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), Stuti Narain Kacker, NCPCR(National Commission for Protection of Child Rights), famous theatre personality Dolly Thakore, Bollywood Actress Sushama Seth and Padmashri awardee Syeda Hameed, former member of the Planning Commission.

The winning entry of Mr. Pujari for the award highlights the lack of Policies to provide land rights to Single Women that makes a strong case for an official definition of the term Single Women as a first step towards conferment of land rights of Single Women.

See more of the news at : https://orissadiary.com/odisha-based-writer-naba-kishor-pujari-bagged-laadli-media-award/

Odisha: Public Hearing Highlighted Gaps in RTE Implementation

A public Hearing on RTE was organised in Berhampur to take stock of the ground level implementation of RTE Act and to ensure the grievance redressal of cases which either violates the RTE Act or lopsided implementation of the Act.


Report by OD bureau; Berhampur: Dusasan Malik, a PanchayatSamiti  member of RajarbadiPanchayat, said that Rubangi UP school has no playground, less teachers in accordance with Pupils Teacher Ration and other infrastructural deficit.

MDM is not being served properly. Like his case, around 40 cases were heard during the public hearing  organized by National Coalition for Education on Right to Education at Utkal Ashram, Berhampur, Ganjam. Legislator, SMC Members, members of PanchayatSamitis, representatives of NGOs also spelt out the ground realities of RTE Act implementation in the state.
The programme was organized in association with ISRD and CHILDLINE. Issues pertaining to RTE Context like, SMC  Management, teachers vacancy and spending on education like supply of textbook and school uniforms were vividly discussued.
Explaining the purpose of the public hearing, State Advocacy Coordinator of NCE Mr.Naba Kishor Pujari said that Public hearing is a major platform to discuss issues, challenges and affirmative actions regarding RTE Implementation.Spending on public education is a core challenge and therefore, there is a need to come up with such cases so that some issues can be resolved.
Addressing the gathering, Local MLA Mr.Ramesh Chandra Chyau Pattnaik appreciated the effort of NCE and ISRD and pointed out that education should be considered as a common issue, and he assured that after the cases are collected , he will definitely look after the matters.
Participating in the public hearing, Project Coordinator, pedagogy of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, Ganjam Mr. ManoranjanSahu responded to all queries and assured of undertaking follow up and monitoring of the cases.

Odisha Girl Says No to Child Marriage

In India, we have various laws that prohibits and discourages age-old social practices that constitute a gross violation of human rights. But many a times those culturally sanctioned customs surpass the legal barriers. Child marriages which still continue in various parts of the country is a perfect example.
I learnt this during my conversation with Rashmita Pradhan, a 17-year girl from Sikhar Palli village of Odisha's Ganjam district, who had to battle against such deeply established social norms when her family decided to marry her off early. She was in class 9th and wanted to study more, but she was prevented to go to school by her own mother.
During our discussion at her home, she told me how the news of her marriage plan shattered her completely. “I was scared to react against it at first," she said.
"I knew that marriage meant ruining my life and dreams of studying more. Many a thoughts were running in mind simultaneously. I knew my request would not be heard as my denial will also affect the marriage prospects of my younger sister. I also knew that my mother would face severe  social rebuke for my decision.
"I didn't want to cause any trouble to my mother who was already facing a lot of difficulties in raising us since my father's death seven years ago. But at the same time, I was not ready to get married and ruin my life," she narrated.
She was quite disturbed and disheartened by the developments. Then, she decided to meet Rina Nahak, a local women leader associated with a local NGO partner organization of ActionAid India. After listening to her story, Rina assured Rashmita of help and invited her mother to a women's group meeting and explained the issues related to child marriage.
It took time to persuade Rashmita’s mother, but frequent counseling and follow up with Rashmita’s family finally helped stop the marriage plan.
"I was very happy when my mother agreed to cancel my marriage she has fixed with a neighbour's boy working in Surat (Gujarat)," Rashmita told while wiping off tears  from her eyes. "No, I am not crying. I am happy," she clarified immediately.
The story of Rashmita is a victory after a long struggle to speak up against child marriage. When I met her, she was perhaps unaware of her role in paving the way for others to stand up against illegal practice. However, it was not easy for Rashmita to overcome the struggle in a locality where the common perception is that if a girl reaches  puberty, she is ready for marriage.
The problem remains rooted in a complex matrix of age-old religious traditions, social practices,  prejudices and economic factors. Regardless of its origins, child marriage is a gross violation of human rights that devastates one not just physically, but also psychologically and emotionally. Child marriage also causes serious health hazards linked to early pregnancy and childbirth. It's also found that those who get married early are more likely to be victims of domestic violence.
In Rashmita's case, it would have not been possible to stop her marriage if she had not chosen to speak up against it. The efforts of the womens group also helped her to prevent the marriage. Unfortunately, Rashmita's success story is a rare case. According to a report published in 2012 by UNICEF, 37.2 per cent of girls in Odisha get married before legal age of marriage..
However, Rashmita has set an example and we need brave-hearts like her in our society who can stand up against such illegal practices.

Source: http://www.actionaid.org/india/2015/05/odisha-girl-says-no-child-marriage

Public Hearing on Right to Education (RTE) in Odisha

National Coalition for Education in collaboration with Research Academy for Rural Enrichment (RARE) organised a Public Hearing on Right to Education in DRDA Conference Hall, Subarnapur, Odisha. The objective of the programme was to take stock of RTE Implementation at the grassroots level and aiming at resolving issues/ challenges through bringing out cases before appropriate authorities.

Programme Press Note

Right to Education Act is all set to mark seven years of its implementation in 1st April 2017 but there is still a crying need to accelerate effort to make Education for All a reality for all. Several core components of elementary education under this Act like functioning of School Management Committee, Lack of adequate and minimum teachers in schools, drop out of children, management of school funds, school infrastructure and unsafe MDM Management, school safety issues as well as accessibility to schools in remote locations were reported in a Public Hearing on RTE conducted jointly by National Coalition for Education and Research Academy of Rural Enrichment, Subarnapur.

Around 31 cases were presented in the hearing by students, teachers, members of the School Management Commmittes on the challenges that they are facing in terms of RTE Compliance mentioned in the Act. The jury comprised of Mr. Chandra Sekhar Mishra, Chairperson, CWC, Subarnapur, Educationist Ms. Mamata Swain, Advisor on RTE to OSCPCR Mr. Ghasiram Panda, Block Education Officer Mr. Kesab Chadra Meher witnessed the gaps of RTE Implementation and directed assured redressal of all the grievances through appropriate authorities in the public hearing.

Among others, Executive Director of NCE Ms. Bella Das, Research Coordinator Ms. Priya Bhakat, State Representative of NCE Mr.Naba Kishor Pujari, President of RARE Mr. Gourishyam Panda and Secretary Mr. Ashutosh Hota were present in the public hearing.

Later, the detailed recommendation and individual observations of the jury and the cases presented will be submitted to Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights for further action.

See some of the media coverage of this programme:

http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=72257

http://samajaepaper.in/pagezoomsinwindows.php?img=undefined&id=6706&boxid=132201733545267&cid=4&mod=1&pagenum=1

ACCELERATE POLICY AND COMMUNITY-RESILIENT MEASURES

ACCELERATE POLICY AND COMMUNITY-RESILIENT MEASURES
Monday, 16 January 2017 | NABA KISHOR PUJARI | in Bhubaneswar

India is highly vulnerable to various natural hazards such as droughts, floods, heat waves and cyclones. The effects of climate change are adding a new and more intractable dimension to the existing risk profile of vulnerable areas. It is believed that climate change will alter the number, severity, frequency and complexity of climate-induced hazards. With this uncertainty, and more importantly, with new areas experiencing extreme events, it becomes critical to adopt an integrated climate risk management approach.  Odisha is evidentially vulnerable to multiple disasters. Due to its subtropical littoral location, the State is prone to tropical cyclones, storms, surges and tsunamis.

According to the source of the OSDMA (Odisha State Disaster Management Authority), the State has experienced cyclones 12 times till now. Also the 482-kilometre-long coastline of Odisha exposes the State to floods, cyclones and storm surges. As a result of this, many people have lost their lives; live stocks perished; and houses were washed away; roads and other means of communication and transportations damaged and the livelihoods like agriculture were lost, causing a huge burden to the State’s economy.

Odisha has also experienced heat waves that caused losses of people’s lives. Heat wave refers to an exceptional increase of temperature in the atmosphere; is frequent especially in the western and south-western part of the State. If we take an example, the State had to face an unprecedented heat wave in 1998 when 2,042 persons lost their lives. The poor people were the worst affected.

Counting the adverse impact of climate-induced disasters in Odisha, cyclone has been a major devastation blow. The seashore villages are suffering with increasing salinity of their firm lands. It poses damage to standing crops in the lands and severe littoral deposits, waterlogging due to river surge. Crop loss, decrease of wetlands, sand casting and parched lands due to drought have made people of the State suffer with nature’s worst impact in their lives.

It is needed to consider the impact of climate change and climate-induced disasters on existing programmes and activities, but adding the considerations of its vulnerability to existing programmes and activities is very necessary if adaptation is to take place in a way that affects the population and development. Unless these linkages are not considered, people’s development cannot be addressed properly.

Adaptation and coping mechanisms

Various adaptive measures and coping mechanisms have been taken to minimise the vulnerability during the occurrence of a disaster in terms of damage and destruction of lives and properties. Odisha was in many ways a pioneer in drafting the climate plan that includes nearly as many mitigation and adaption plans driven by financial and economic considerations.  The State Government has implemented SRI (Systematic Rice Intensification), aggressive plantation in degraded areas, construction of multipurpose cyclone shelter, promotion of water use efficiency and climate-resilient crop varieties to improve the sustained ability of a commodity to utilise available resources to respond to, withstand and recover from the adverse situations.

Future policy implications

It is known that the geographical and climatic conditions of Odisha pose a constant challenge of natural disasters, which cannot be stopped but can only be minimised through both immediate and long-term planning. There has been a growing awareness on the disaster impacts and its consequences among people, especially the commendable evacuating and messaging work done by the State Government during the cyclone Phailin. However, in most of the cases, the disaster response has remained as an instant humanitarian support in many ways. There is need of reviewing the development planning of the State wherein the disaster and climate change issues get priorities and actions and related strategies must be reflected in the line departments including the responsible department.

To come up to the expectation of affected communities and to steer the local economy go on, there are some of the policy implications that can help the State prepare and mitigate climate-induced disaster in a more capable manner. First of all, there is a need of proactive, pro-people, timely and effective disaster response with a dedicated leadership and political willingness. This includes coordination, preplanning and effective implementation of disaster preparedness action plan and climate change action plan. Secondly, the State Government should prioritise and make available infrastructures, road communications and transport systems, ensuring of essential services delivery like food and clothing,  health and hygiene and drinking water.

Community resilience is also as important as other priority sectors to deal with the disasters. Therefore, actions must be strategised to capacitate people’s existing knowledge to adapt and develop coping capacity on disasters through training, handholding support as well as include all the disaster-affected people through various social safety nets and social security schemes. Last but not the least, there is a need of better coordination and joint efforts of GO-NGO, inter-departmental coordination and use participatory vulnerability analysis as well as community-driven disaster response plan to minimise the devastations and damages by disasters to the communities who are frequently being affected by these catastrophes.

This Article was published in the Pioneer, a premier National English daily. Readers can see the published post in :
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/accelerate-policy-and-community-resilient-measures.html

CHILD SERVITUDE MUST END ONCE AND FOR ALL

CHILD SERVITUDE MUST END ONCE AND FOR ALL
Monday, 26 December 2016 | NABA KISHOR PUJARI | in Bhubaneswar

India is home to about 19 per cent of the world”s total child population and the country has the uncertain distinction of being home to the largest child labour force in the world, with an estimated 30 per cent of the world”s working kids living here.

According to the report of the Education International, of the estimated 21 million slaves in the world today, an astonishing 26 per cent, or more than one in every four, is a child under the age of 18, with some being as young as five. Forced to work for up to 18 hours a day, these children are sold for less than the price of cattle. They are deprived of their right to education and other human rights. This must stop.

Despite several laws, Acts, guidelines and directives for children in India, we as a country have not been able so far to protect the childhood of the children of our country. The state of Indian children draws a very sorry figure in terms of their development, education, health, participation and protection. Indian laws only say that those below 14 years of age cannot be employed in “hazardous” industries. The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, prohibiting the employment of children below 14 altogether, was introduced in Parliament in 2012, but has not yet been passed.

Studies show that 60 million children work for approximately 200 days a year at an average cost of Rs15 per child per day. This amounts to Rs18,000 crore in one year. Now, these 60 million child labourers, when substituted with 60 million adult labourers, would earn Rs1.38 trillion at a minimal rate of an average floor wage of Rs115 per day per labourer for 200 days. This difference in the total earnings works out to Rs1.2 trillion. This straight profit of Rs1.2 trillion is a significant loss to the economy.

The major occupations involving child labour are pan, bidi and cigarettes (21per cent), construction (17 per cent), and spinning and weaving (11 per cent), which qualify as hazardous processes/occupations. Domestic workers constitute 15 per cent of the total child workers.

The Government of Odisha has its commitment in the State Plan of Action for Children 2009-2012 that the Government would reduce and eventually eliminate entirely the practice of child labour in the State. But this has not been ensured.  For years now, the State Government has not carried out any comprehensive survey to find out the population of child labourers in the State.

Data (from the National Sample Survey Organisation, January 2014) now puts that the number of child labour under the age five to fourteen in rural Odisha as  24 and 41 in urban areas per 1,000 population. The total number of child labour in the State as per the report is 2, 22,953. The State Government has enacted Orissa Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Rules, 1994, the Bonded Labour System (abolition) Act, 1976, The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of Children Act of 2000 and The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act of 2009. This apart, the State Government is also implementing 24 National Child Labour Projects (NCLP).

According to a study report on child labour, 31 per cent of the working children are dropped out from the school. Moreover, about 29 per cent of the working children have never attended school; only 40 per cent are those who currently attending school. Out of the total children currently studying 3 per cent is in primary. The Economic Survey report 2013-14 of the State Government also reveals that during 2012-13, 39,409 child labours were admitted into 812 special schools opened under NCLP but these initiatives would not suffice the cause against the magnitude of the problems prevailing in the State. The relentless effort of Kailash Satyarthi and Malala and the recognition for their fight against child servitude and education must add enthusiasm, spirit and commitment in us to continue our fight against the slavery. After all, we need a country where there are no practices of child servitude and children enjoy their fullest form of rights. Recently, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has revealed that the Centre plans to bring a long-pending key amendment Bill that seeks to ban employment of children below 14 years of age in any occupation in the coming session of Parliament. This is a good move but are we not missing opportunities again and again when we have with us several laws, acts, policies and pro-active measures of the Government. We could not even meet the target of Education For All (EFA) Goals, Millenniums Development Goals (MDGs).

This article was published in the Pioneer, a premium National English Daily newspaper. Readers can see the published post through:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/child-servitude-must-end-once-and-for-all.html

LET’S HAVE CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS

LET’S HAVE CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS
Wednesday, 04 January 2017 | NABA KISHORE PUJARI | in Bhubaneswar

Democracies need active, informed and responsible citizens; citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves and their communities and contribute to the political process. In a country like India, which enjoys the world’s largest democracy, our roles and functions should not merely be limited to awareness about our rights and responsibilities but we also are informed about the social and political world and we articulate our opinions and arguments as active citizens. To do so, we need to know about our socio-cultural ethos, historical background and our rich tradition of our secularity and sovereignty as well as religious diversity.

We all have a notion that the citizenship education develops in a person through ordinary experiences; maybe after we are eligible to cast our votes or the older we grow. We believe our jobs as limited once we have already chosen political representatives to do on our part. But the capacities needed to be an active citizen do not develop singlehanded. We need to learn it. While citizenship may be picked up through ordinary experience in the home or at work to some extent, it can never suffice us to equip as citizens for the sort of active role required of them in today’s complex and diverse society.

If citizens are to become genuinely involved in public life and affairs, a more explicit approach to citizenship education is required. Because there are numerous citizenship issues that warrant people to know and react to.

Citizenship education essentially stresses upon increasing people’s capacity or enabling them to make informed choice or have their own decision as well as to take responsibilities for their own lives and communities they live in. Very importantly, citizenship education helps build our character and the required skills to communicate, intent to initiate, improve our social interaction and teamwork.

While it is commonsense-wise relative to have citizenship education for adults, there are experimental evidences that ask for introducing citizenship education for children and youths. Because that would help them develop self-confidence and successfully deal with significant life changes and challenges such as bullying and discrimination. Also, it enables them to make a positive contribution by developing the expertise and experience needed to claim their rights and understand their responsibilities.

Schools being the core platform of nation building tasks, education on active citizenship would yield motivated and responsible learners who relate positively to each other, family members and to the neighbourhoods. For society, it helps create an active and responsible citizenry, willing to participate in the life of the nation and the wider world and play its part in the democratic process.

Even though several topics on the Constitution, political processes, laws/Acts and roles and responsibilities of a citizen are taught through social science subjects in schools and sociology/political science subjects in colleges. But citizenship education involves many more than that. It teaches them the knowledge and understanding, skills and aptitudes, values and dispositions  which helps them understand their rights and responsibilities, diversity, social justice, adherence to rule of law, environmental conservation and gender equality and empower them to be change-enablers who meaningfully participate in the decisions of the society. Also, it teaches on our national values.

We have successful examples of active citizenship education being incorporated in European, African and other several countries. In our country also, such initiatives by nonprofit organisations like the Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness are being undertaken to prepare young children as active citizens. Now, it’s time to replicate and universalise in the school curriculum in our country to cherish a more inclusive society. All that we need is to emphasise the importance of citizenship education and make effort to create a critical mass of citizens who have the knowledge, skill and confidence to participate in our democracy as effective citizens.

See more at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhubaneswar/lets-have-citizenship-education-in-schools.html