Ripon Kapoor Children’s Parliament

NGO Post has a nice article on a visit to a Children’s Parliament session in Tamil Nadu. This parliament has achieved quite a lot in its two year tenure : regular bus services, regular water supply, ensuring that the health department sprays mosquito repellents regularly, motivated children who have dropped out to rejoin school, etc.

On 26th April, we went to Aranvoyal, 40 minutes drive from Porur, Chennai. The members of the Parliament assembled at the temple premises. There were twenty members, whose age ranged from five to eighteen.

The Speaker started the session and requested the minutes of the previous session to be read out. The Home Minister read out the minutes. The members started discussing whether any action had been taken on the resolutions passed in the previous sessions. If action had not been taken, the minister who held the respective portfolio was asked to give an explanation. Some of the interesting points that they discussed included

• Points to be raised in the forth coming Grama Sabha meeting

• Allocating space for computer and typewriting classes for students who have completed class X

• Summer camp – when to conduct and how many would participate

• Health Minister started a discussion on where to plant saplings

• Education Minister said that she has approached authorities to ensure bus service for school going children

• Information Minister was asked about the progress of preparing an archive of news items on children and their welfare

• Education Minister raised the issue that classes were not being conducted properly in a particular school. She also mentioned that the number of students and teachers were very low and that the issue has to be considered seriously.

• Members requested that Parent Teacher Association meetings should be convened regularly.

• Some members strongly objected to the students being made to clean the school premises. They agreed that they would request the authorities to appoint people to do the work.

Resolutions were passed and the session was concluded. Throughout the session the children very seriously addressed the problems, argued and arrived at solutions.

When the children come together and take up responsibilities, they start discovering their abilities, learn to interact, enjoy helping and serving people and it definitely makes them wholesome individuals.

Read about Ms.Logammal who started this project, more about the visit to this session and how you can support this project by reading the entire article here.

Image Source: Pratham Books (photo by Ryan Lobo)