Srinagar, Feb 3: Despite strict regulations to stop child labour, there are around two lakh forty thousand such workers in Jammu and Kashmir.
These revelations were made by Dr Fayaz Ahmad Nika in his book “Child Labour in Jammu and Kashmir”.
“The figures came to fore after we completed an enumeration process in the field. We have also collected data from various sources based on primary and secondary ones,” Nika said during the book release at College of Education here.
“The book, published by Meezan publications, was officially released by Minister of Higher Education, Abdul Gani Malik. Apart from minister, college principles, Kashmir University registrar, students and people from different shades of life attended the event.
Nika, who is head of department Commerce and Management, Degree College Sopore also said there had also not been a single study carried by the State to know the exact details about the number of child laborers in Valley.
“In fact there is no coordination between political executives, academics and bureaucrats,” he said. “The recommendations and suggestions made by the academicians during the research are never implemented by the authorities. The politicians never induct us in Committees while bureaucrats formulate policies sitting in their offices. Academia is never consulted in those matters”.
Minister, Abdul Gani Malik said government had carried number of survey to enumerate the number of child labourers in the State, adding, however they were refuted by the alleged employers of the children.
“I think there are several hundred child labourers in the State,” Malik said.
Responding to an allegation that many child workers had been employed by the top brass of government, he said they were devising a Performa of declaration whereby each public servant had to give declaration that they won’t employ children.
He said Voluntary Scheme Allowance was being granted to those unemployed youth who had registered themselves, adding Rs 9 crore had been kept for the purpose.
KU Registrar, S Fayaz said the researches should not be mere statistics, they should give suggestions as well.
Meanwhile, Malik also launched J&K’s first infotech magazine, GLOBE at a function later.
He said the magazine would fill up the vacuum in the publishing segment in the field of Information Technology (IT) and other science & technology related fields in the of J&K.
Malik also inaugurated 3-day employment fair at Ganderbal. More than 16 departments have installed their stalls in the exhibition.