India’s commitment to respecting children’s rights is reflected in national policies and strategies which relate closely to the UN Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC).
However, the quality of education and equal access to education are still a concern. Many children, especially girls, from lower castes, ethnic minorities and displaced communities do not have access to education.
Whilst many children in primary school have access to physical education, this decreases in secondary schools and is particularly poor for girls, who tend to drop out of school early for religious and cultural reasons.
UNICEF is running a project in India through International Inspiration, the sport for development programme of the London 2012 Olympics. At national level, we have supported the development of an integrated advocacy campaign focusing on girls’ right to play and have offered advice on the national strategy for community sport, volunteering and village-based sporting events.
In rural areas, the project has brought hope to displaced children and young people, who often do not have the opportunity to get involved in organised educational, sporting and recreational activities.
The district of Dantewada, in Chhattisgarh State, has been affected by an ongoing conflict between the state Government and Maoist rebel forces. Since 2005, it is estimated that the conflict has displaced about 46,000 people and has disrupted the activities of over 300 schools. Schools are now active in camps for displaced people. However the quality of education is still of concern, with over 50 per cent of children not acquiring satisfactory literacy and numeracy skills.
Our strategy is to use high quality physical education, sport and play to create a sense of community and to foster a culture of unity, peace and tolerance between children and young people living in camps and those coming from surrounding villages.
Over 400 community sport volunteers were identified and trained, reaching around 10,000 children and young people, both in camps and neighbouring communities. Some 6,200 community members participated in the events and 42 youth clubs were created.
In Chhattisgarh, this project has demonstrated the power of sport for conflict resolution. During the final community sport event of the year, a team of people from minority groups competed against a team composed of government employees, something unthinkable a few years ago.
