Guest column: Make child rights panel, police nod mandatory for these camps

We should welcome such summer camps as they act as stressbusters for children and give them an opportunity to learn things leisurely. Having said that, the notion of safety still remains paramount. Every summer camp must have a child protection policy and the organisers must have knowledge about child safety and rights.

They must also run the camps on the basis of specific rules and regulations and have surveillance cameras in place for the protection of the children. In future it should be made mandatory for them to take permission from the Child Rights Commission, the local police and the women’s rights department to hold the camps.

The venues of the summer camps must be inspected by the CWC and the local police and should display the numbers of the child helpline, the police and the CWC. With many of these camps today becoming mere money making businesses, and doing little to act as monotony breakers, parents too need to be more selective when opting for them.

They must realise that there is a rise in cases of child abuse at these camps, where children’s rights are often violated. It is time the government came out with a child protection policy, making no compromise on the security of children as paedophiles could be attending these camps in the guise of teachers, friends or instructors. There should be stringent rules on doing background checks of all those involved as well.

The writer is a child rights activist.