Furthermore, Nepal's Children's Act, 1992 also bars the mobilization of children in any kind of agitations against their will.
However, as with any agitation in the country, the mobilization of school children in the Tarai agitations is reported to be rampant. Children armed with batons are seen pelting stones at security personnel and the vehicles in support of the protest of the agitating parties.
The protest launched by the Unified Democratic Madhesi Front in the southern plains, which has past two and a half months now, crippling normal life, has hit the school children the most with educational institutions remaining shut down since.
Unofficial estimates state that around 3 million of school children living in protest-stricken districts have been directly affected by the protest.
The National Census Report 2011 also reveals that some Tarai districts in Province No 2, where the protest is at its peak, are backward in terms of educational performances of children comparatively like poor academic marks, enrolment rate and pass out rates.
On the other hand, the blockade imposed by India on the border and prolonged closure of educational institutions may also affect overall pass percentage of children in the School Leaving Certificate or SLC test.
The prolonged closure of educational institutions may affect the government's target to make a double-digit growth in pass rate in the SLC examinations every year as well. It may however be noted that the government's plan have already tasted failure as the pass rate shows that 41.57 percent children got through the perceived Iron Gate or SLC in 2013, and 43.9 percent in 2014 followed by 47.43 percent in 2015.
However, for good steps, some parents, to prevent their children from being affected by the prolonged agitations, have resorted to sending their children to other districts not witnessing protest or in schools in nearby Indian cities. But to add to the problems, other children of parents failing to afford such move have been left behind, thus affecting their future.
Educational institutions are the ones directly affected by any type of protests and the mobilization of children in protest is going on rampantly. But sadly, those who advocate the rights of children are involved in using children in protest. Be it is during the Maoist's decade-long insurgency, children have become an easy tool to use in protest to gain their personal interests. Mobilization of children in protest also affects psychology of children, apart from their studies.
Psychologists say that repeated exposure of children to protest may have psychological impact in them in the long run. They say the psychological effects of the civil war in children are being surfaced in the form of mental problems and poor educational performance.
Likewise, educationists see mobilizing of school children as an illegal act that will affect the overall studies of children at present and in the long run.
Educationalist VidyanathKoirala says that the trend of mobilizing school children in the Tarai agitations is appalling and the illegal act will affect their studies. He views that the situation may go from bad to worse if effective measures are not adopted at the earliest.
He says that some alternative steps should be adopted so as to engage the children in the agitation-hit areas with their studies at this point of time. He suggests imparting children in villages or home in case of a closure of educational institutions. He also suggests for local FM radio stations and newspapers to provide behavioral education to the children in order to let the children continue with their studies. RSS
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