Noida: Mobile units to help street children in education

Street children in Noida and Greater Noida will now get special classes, including in spoken English and skill development, through mobile education units under a new initiative to keep them away from anti-social activities. The initiative "Nanhe Parinde" is a joint effort of the Noida Police and the HCL Foundation, a memorandum of understanding for which was signed here on Friday.

As part of the first of its kind initiative in Uttar Pradesh, the program will connect over 1,500 children living in difficult circumstances with education, digital literacy, spoken English and sports over three years in Gautam Buddh Nagar, an official statement said. "Five mobile education units have been especially furbished and set up to ensure safe spaces for children to get academic support (Math and Science), art lessons, digital literacy, English language skills, coaching in sports, wherever possible, such as Football, Volleyball, Athletics, Boxing, Kabaddi and indoor games," it said.

"This initiative is also expected to reduce the rate of school dropout and juvenile crime rates in the community by conducting bridge education activities, coaching and after-school support classes under the supervision of local police officers and NGO staff on a regular basis," the statement added. Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Vaibhav Krishna said the focus is at providing learning and nutrition to "street children" in a bid to give them quality lives and keep them away from crime and anti-social activities.

"In this initiative HCL Foundation will start the mobile units and send them to particular locations where street children are generally present to impart them learning/education/meals/other necessary support to keep them engaged, develop their skills/self esteem so that they could have a better quality of life and could be kept away from crime," Krishna said. The police department will appoint the local police inspector to support and monitor each club, initiate legal prosecution against any person, group or body causing harm to the mobile vehicles/community centres/land owned by the state government and maintain the mobile vehicles/community centres/land owned by the state government after the expiry of the MoU period, according to the statement.

Nidhi Pundir, Director for HCL Foundation, said the initiative will also ensure regular health check-up, nutrition support, self-defence and gender-sensitisation sessions for children. The initiative will be implemented by Chetna NGO.

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