Schools advised to uphold children's rights
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 15 2025: There are many acts and rules for the well-being of children, one of which is gender non-conforming children's rights.

Educational institutions should ensure these rights and refrain from acting beyond their jurisdiction, opined Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR) chairperson Keisham Pradipkumar.

He made the statement during the launch function of 'How to draft orders of Juvenile Justice Board', a book penned by Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board member Athokpam Chinglemba Luwang at the conference hall of the Social Welfare Department on Thursday.

Schools advised to uphold children's rights

Noting that public awareness regarding child rights still remains largely inadequate, Pradipkumar pointed out that most schools in the state have two major flaws.

The first flaw is the disregard of gender non-conforming children's rights under the Transgender Act, which allows children to wear the school uniform of their choice.

"School authorities need to discard the notion that the school rules are absolute," he said.

Another flaw is that while schools claim to provide counselling for their students, no councillor post has been created.

He observed that parents/guardians are often prevented from meeting their children, stating that school authorities do not have the right to take any action against parents wanting to meet their children.

"If any student faces difficulties, the Social Welfare Department, MCPCR, CWC and others are there to help," Pradipkumar assured, while cautioning educational institutions about their limitations and the lack of authority to act outside their jurisdiction.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinglemba Luwang informed that the book was written to help non-legal background members of the JJ Board in drafting the orders of the Board.

He called for the JJ Board to provide travel expenses for children from poor backgrounds to ensure they are able to participate in the justice system.

Other relevant topics are also covered in the book, he added.

Social Welfare Department director Anna Arambam and retired District and Sessions Judge Salam Imocha attended the programme as presidium members.