Page 8 - Final Lesson-3.pmd

Needs and Rights of Children

3.3.4 Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act,
2016
Notes Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 prohibits the employment

of children below the age of 14 years in hazardous occupations identified in a
list by the law and to regulate the services of children in non-hazardous
occupations. It is aimed at banning the employment of children below 14 years
of age, laying down a procedure to make additions to the schedule of banned
occupations or processes, regulating the working conditions of children, laying
down penalties for employment of children in violation of the provisions of this
Act and other Acts which forbid the employment of children, and bringing
uniformity in the definition of the child in related laws. Child Labour (Prohibition
and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 introduced the concept of adolescent
labour. An adolescent has been defined as a person between the ages of 14-18
years. The Act permits employment of adolescents except in hazardous
occupation.

3.3.5 The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act was enacted in 2016. It promotes
and protects the right to equality, life with dignity and respect for integrity
equally with others in various aspects of life such as educational, social, legal,
economic, cultural and political. The Act elaborates on various kinds of
entitlements to children with disabilities and gives directions to the appropriate
governments for the education, skill development, employment, social security,
health, rehabilitation, and recreation of such children. The types of disabilities
has been increased from seven (The Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995) to 21,
with power to the Central Government to add more. Additional benefits such
as reservation in higher education (not less than 5%) and government jobs (not
less than 4%) have also been included.

3.3.6 National Plan of Action for Children, 2016

The National Plan of Action for Children, 2016 is committed to provide equal
opportunities for all children and protect their rights. In order to build
convergence and coordination among various sectors and levels of governance,
the NPAC has identified the objectives and prepared plans in the form of
strategies and action points under four Key Priority Areas mentioned in the
National Policy for Children 2013 such as Survival, Health and Nutrition,
Education and Development, Protection, and participation. This plan intends to
provide comprehensive policy focus to address vulnerabilities of children.
Vulnerable children includes socio-economically or otherwise disadvantaged
groups, children with disabilities, street/homeless children, child labour/migrant

38 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION