KOZHIKODE: Kasargod and Wayanad are in the list of 48 districts in the country leading in child rights violations, according to a study on immunization programmes conducted by the Indian Medical Association.
“Joint efforts are needed to retain the progress made by Kerala in child health care. Awareness is the key solution,” said Ms Sobha Koshy, chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights. The commission is planning joint programmes with IMA, health department and NGOs to address the issue. “When we visit houses for immunisation awareness, we face stiff resistance. People ask umpteen questions which have no scientific basis at all,” said a health official in Kasargod.
Wayanad district medical officer Dr P.V. Sasidharan said that 1,243 children under five years of age had not undergone immunization in the district.
In school dropout rate , Kasargod tops the state with 714 students from class 1 to 10 in 2015, including 256 girls. The majority of the dropouts are Muslims (482). Kasargod DDE C. Raghavan said that the list includes 348 students from neighbouring Karnataka.
“People from Shimoga come to Kasargod for fishing during the season. Their kids are enrolled and once the season ends, they return,” he reasoned. To check the trend, the SSA has been implementing special projects and 36 dropouts were re-enrolled last year. “This year we have identified 46 dropouts. They will be brought back before August 30,” he added.
Wayanad district child protection officer K. Suresh Babu confirmed that school dropouts are rampant in the tribal area. Acknowledging the plight of Kasargod, the SCPCR has conducted the first stakeholders’ meet of integrated child protection scheme there.
