A Case Study of Educational and Vocational Facilities of Children in Conflict with Law in the Child Care Institutes of the State of Odisha

Abstract

It is trite to say that children of today are the future of tomorrow. They are an asset and not a liability to any nation. It is now a constitutional obligation to have their early schooling and develop their capacity by grooming them for nation-building. This age is full of turbulences and uncertainties. It has the potential to go either way, especially for a child who comes from a fractured family or is deprived of the love and care of parents due to one or the other reason. This vulnerability of children to different vices has been compounded by the present internet age that has facilitated the use of social media where families are broken not actually but because of the distance they maintain while living under the same roof or in the same room. The parents or other elders of a child do not find time even while sitting in the same room or under the same roof but they chat or message each other as and when required to talk to each other. These children are now more vulnerable and susceptible to deviant behaviour than before. They may be, at times, in conflict with the law, but they cannot be treated like ordinary criminals. They need sympathy and not indifference; they need treatment and not punishment. This is why the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, was passed with a focus on reformation and rehabilitation of Juvenile delinquents. This Act makes laudable provisions for education and vocation facilities for such delinquents with an avowed object to ensure that these delinquents integrate with mainstream once they complete their period of stay in Government established child care homes or institutes. The Government of Odisha has also established child care institutes. This paper attempts to examine the status of educational and training facilities for children in need of care and protection who are sent to child care institutions in accordance with the order passed by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) for rehabilitation.