Bal panchayat (childrens Parliament) is an initiative supported
by UNICEF (United Nation Childrens Fund) has been adopted
by some Panchayats in different parts of India to encourage the involvement of children in self governance for their own development. Through this model of child or adolescent participation based on the concept of providing children a suitable democratic platform to directly engage with adult duty bearers in order to elicit their attention and action on issues that concern them. School going children in the age group of 5 to 18 years become members of the Bal Panchayat. Each Panchayat has its own President, Secretary and Reporter who are elected members and hold office for a period of six months. Children elect the office bearers themselves through a vote. Panchayat meetings are held on a regular basis during which children get together for discussions, to set goals, to formulate plan of action etc. Based on these decisions children design and implement their activities. Function/Concept of Bal panchayat (i) Through creative projects, consultations and community Programmes children learn about their human rights and duties through acquiring knowledge, skill, behavior and values for citizenship. It improved their understanding on the concepts of freedom, teamwork and the consequences of their actions on each other. (ii) It aim to reduce the school dropout rate, achieve hundred percent literacy, wean away social evils such as child marriages, female infanticide or foeticide, ensures availability of basic amenities such as protected drinking water, sanitary facilities etc. (iii) Contributes to reduction of school drop-out rate, support to School Management Committees as prescribed under RTE Act,
identifying child labour, drop-outs and mapping the issues
related to child protection in the neighbourhood. (iv) In Rajasthan, Ajmer District has thirty Bal Panchayat functioning. According to UNICEF, 82 % of the girls in the state are married by the age of 15. The child sex ratio from 1901 to 2001 census has reduced against the girl child. Thus involvement of children through different activities can help local people to be more aware to take actions to eradicate social evils. (v) A democratic platform for expression of the voices of children in the true spirit of child or youth governance, i.e. participation of young people in the decision-making process on issues affecting them, was resulting in a better outcome for children and families, and an improved policy process. (vi) Listening to develops self belief, confidence and leadership skills in them and empowers them to speak out and challenge their situations thereby making them active citizens of tomorrow. (vii) Bal Panchayat or childrens council is a unique platform that addresses child rights and issues. It is a forum through which children can express themselves and at the same time learn about themselves, their rights, their duties and their world. (viii) Bal Panchayat endeavors to bring out the best in a child, focusing on the individuals growth and personality development. The distinctive aspect of Bal Panchayat is that it is a forum of children by children and for children. (ix) What this essentially means is that Bal Panchayat is truly a childrens movement where children decide for themselves the issues they want to focus on, the goals they want to achieve and how those goals will be achieved. Operational structure of Bal Panchayat (i) Bal Panchayats formed at each panchayat-level, mandal-level and district-level.
(ii) The panchayat level childrens collective meet regularly to
discuss and collate their issues before presenting the same before the village Panchayats and other duty bearers or officials. (iii) Children representatives nominated by children themselves as members of the Block level childrens collective highlight the issues of the entire block; this process is repeated for choosing the District level childrens collective to present issues concerning children in the district before the Zila Panchayat and district administration. (iv) The expected culmination is an annual Childrens Assembly organized during the State Assembly session, to enable a democratic interaction between the children and the states policy makers, to seek accountability and action on the rights of children. (v) The periodicity of the Bal Panchayat meetings (with adult duty bearers) would be: a. Village Level: Once every month; b. Block level: Quarterly; c. District Level; Annual; d. State Level: Annual