Ranchi: The Jharkhand Right to Education Forum (JRETF) on Thursday released an 11-point ‘Child Manifesto’ for the state and urged political parties to include the issues in their political manifestos for the Lok Sabha elections Releasing the manifesto, JRETF convener A K Singh said the demands raised in the manifesto are largely based on the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of the United Nations which is set for ensuring quality and inclusive education.“The major issues raised in our manifesto include implementation of Right to Education Act of 2009, rationalization of teachers and resources and reduction of non-academic workload on teachers in the state under the aegis of quality and inclusive education for all. We have also included the demand for social audit of all schools and anganwadis in the state,” Singh said. Congress and BJP representatives attended the event and promised to share the issues with their parties’ leadership for inclusion in their manifesto.“The issues raised are crucial to the development of the society. As the focus of the manifesto is on education of children, it brings out an irreplaceable issue — that of education. I will communicate the issues shared and hope education finds top priority in our manifesto,” said Jeetu Charan Ram, BJP MLA from Kanke.Congress spokesperson Ajay Nath Shahdeo, who was also present at the event, said: “Education should always be the centre of focus in any society. But in practice, people tend to sway away from the issue in order to adhere with populist opinions. Even on the verge of elections, if the attention is not on education, it simply means that the society is not serious about development. I will share the manifesto and hope that the issues raised here find a place in our manifesto too.”Apart from a focus on improving the quality of education, the manifesto also mentions the need of block and district level child redressal system that could aid troubled children — especially those affected by domestic abuse and trafficking. The compulsory use of tribal languages in primary education till Class V to reduce dropout rates have also been included in the list.Aarti Kujur, chairperson of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights , who was also present at the event, said: “Improvement in the education scenario and child welfare needs more funds. Children, irrespective of their background, are the future and if the government commits to their development, it will result in overall development of the country and a better lifestyle for our children.”

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