Our Responsibility to Children’ Scheme Expanded to 1,227 Schools

Quick Summary

• The Our Obligation to Children (ORC) project under the Women and Child Development (WCD) department has been expanded to cover 1,227 schools statewide.
• Initially launched under the Integrated child Protection Scheme (ICPS), ORC started with 90 schools and aims for early identification, intervention, and prevention of issues faced by children.
• ORC now focuses on lower and upper primary levels in schools where WCD psychosocial counsellors are appointed.
• Minister Veena George recently reviewed the program implementation and directed forming a committee to revise strategies for addressing evolving challenges among children.
• The SMART-40 life skills training module is being updated from it’s 2022 version to reflect contemporary needs for students with behavioral or mental health issues alongside peer mentors.
• Parenting sessions have been integrated into ORC, helping parents better support their children through observation and guidance.
• LIFE SKILLS education camps such as SMART-i cater specifically to residents within child care institutions, supported by follow-up interventions for sustained growth.

Community-level efforts such as dropout prevention programs have shown successes in districts like Malappuram Thriddaur remediation

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