New Delhi, 13 Nov.2022: Chairman of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind’s Markazi Taleemi Board (Education Board) Mujtaba Farooq has extended his warmest wishes on the occasion of Children’s Day.

In a message, the Markazi Taleemi Board (MTB) Chairman said, “as a nation, we have been celebrating this day since November 14^th, 1948. At a time when India is observing 75 years of Independence with fanfare, we as concerned citizens need to reflect upon the current conditions and situation of children in our country, who are its most treasured future. Children of this country consist of one fifth of the total population and we believe that this group is in need of immediate attention from the state and non state actors in order to make this day truly meaningful.”

Mr. Farooq said that on the special day, the MTB would like to highlight the major issues affecting children in India. Emphasising that all stakeholders need to work on the issues of nutrition, health and education of children, he stressed on to address the concerns of malnutrition, stunting and infant mortality. Pointing out that though the National Education Policy 2020 has repeatedly emphasized on the need to universalise Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) by 2030, Mr.Farooq says, “but the reality is that a big percentage of children do not have access to Anganavadi services as well as private and public pre-schools.”

Calling children, the architects of the country’s future, Mr. Farooq urged both central and state governments to allocate quality budget for children, in this regard. He observed that current budget FY 2022-23 of 2.35% of total union budget was not sufficient to meet the nutritional, health and educational goals to achieve the overall wellbeing of children of the country. He also called on the Union and State to try to match up to the standards of Scandinavian Countries’ budgets on ECCE. The Chairman of the MTB also expressed grave concern regarding the situation of childcare institutions in India, children with special needs, safety and security of children of government schools and pre-matric hostels etc.