Time to change education policies: Altamas Kabir

"What caused him (student) to resort to this act? There is tremendous amount of pressure on children and time has come to make changes in existing education policies," Justice Kabir, who is also Chairman of National Legal Services Authority said.

He was speaking at a workshop on `Roles and Responsibilities of Multi-Disciplinary Stakeholders in Protecting Children`, where he further said that though there were several schemes and laws to protect the children, a sense of caring towards them is required.

"About 42 per cent of citizens of the country are children and out of this, 75 per cent children are deprived of basic facilities and normal childhood. Problems of children should be addressed through combined efforts by various stakeholders, who should also show sensitivity while dealing with matters related to children," he said.

Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Madan B Lokur said, juveniles must be rehabilitated properly and society should change its attitude towards such children, when they are re-integrated into society, adding coordination and collective efforts amongst administration officials, police and NGOs was important for addressing juvenile welfare in a better way.

AP Minister for Women and Child Development V Sunitha Laxma Reddy said, it was the fundamental responsibility of all to ensure that every child is protected, nurtured, bereft of any threat and is brought up to be a responsible citizen.

Chief Secretary Pankaj Dwivedi said, children were vulnerable to exploitation, abuse and violence besides trafficking. "The AP government has taken pro-active steps for child welfare and to protect children from trafficking," he said.