Bal Panchayats

BAL PANCHAYATS

Bal panchayat (children’s Parliament) is an initiative supported by UNICEF (the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) has been adopted by some Panchayats in different parts of India to encourage the involvement of children in self-governance for their own development.

School going children between the age group of 5 to 18 years become members of the Bal Panchayat. Each Panchayat has its own President, Secretary and Reporter who are elected members and hold office for a period of six months. Children elect the office bearers themselves through a vote. Panchayat meetings are held on a regular basis during which children get together for discussions, to set goals, to formulate plan of action, etc. Based on these decisions, children design and implement their activities.

Children can be empowered

1. Through creative projects, consultations and community Programmes, children learn about their human rights and duties through acquiring knowledge, skill, behavior and values for citizenship. It improved their understanding on the concepts of freedom, teamwork and the consequences of their actions on each other.

2. It aims to reduce the school dropout rate, achieve a hundred percent literacy, wean away social evils such as child marriages, female infanticide, or foeticide, and ensure the availability of basic amenities such as protected drinking water, sanitary facilities, etc.

3. Contributes to the reduction of school drop-out rate, support to School Management Committees as prescribed under RTE Act, identifying child labour, drop-outs and mapping the issues related to child protection in the neighbourhood.

4. In Rajasthan, Ajmer District has thirty Bal Panchayat functioning. According to UNICEF, 82 % of the girls in the state are married by age 15. The child sex ratio from 1901 to 2001 Census has reduced against the girl child.

Through this model, children, through different activities, can help local people to be more aware of taking actions to eradicate social evils and participate in providing children a suitable democratic platform to directly engage with adult duty bearers in order to elicit their attention and action on issues that concern them.