Shillong, May 28: A standard operating procedure (SOP) and guidelines to ensure safety and well-being of children sent outside the state for education with the help of NGOs will be prepared by the Meghalaya State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR).
“We have been seeing reports and also hearing from many sources about children going out of the state and staying in illegally established institutes. There have been cases where children have been food poisoned, and two have even died,” said MSCPCR chairperson Agatha K Sangma on Tuesday, after an inter-departmental meeting held to strengthen mechanisms for protecting such children.
Expressing concern over the recent death of two students, and falling ill of 22 others, all from Meghalaya, after food poisoning in their school hostel in Karnataka, she said, “This is an alarming situation arising when children are being taken out of the state. As a Commission, we are holding multi-departmental meetings with representatives from education, police, health, labour, and the law department.”
The SCPCR also decided to hold a brainstorming session to take suggestions from various departments on the matter.
“We will come up with certain SOPs and guidelines to ensure that children who are being taken out of the state are only allowed to go after certain pre-requisites are fulfilled,” she said.
Sangma also expressed satisfaction over receiving valuable suggestions from various departments in Tuesday’s meeting.
