Vijayawada: Don’t insist on child’s father’s name in school admissions

Vijayawada: Vimukthi, a State-level forum of survivors of trafficking and victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation (Sex Workers), appealed to the government to issue orders to schools not to insist to mention father’s name during school admissions. They added that some women are not in a position to mention the names of the fathers of their children due to various reasons.

Vimukthi State leaders on Tuesday met Kesali Appa Rao, the chairperson for AP State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and submitted a representation accordingly.

As per the statistics of AP State AIDS Control Society, there are 1.33 lakh women sex workers and 75 per cent of these women have children. 57.61 per cent of the children of these women, in the age group of 14 years, are going to schools.

Vimukthi leaders said most of these women came out of their houses due to husband’s harassment or divorced or had children out of deceit. While some are separated and living single.

They said that school managements are insisting on mentioning the name and other details of fathers of these children and also pointing out that there is difference in father’s names on Aadhaar card and date of birth certificates and hence not admitting them in their schools.

They reminded that the Supreme Court had issued directions to the State governments in 2015 not to insist for fathers’ name on birth certificates. Hence, the leaders submitted a representation requesting the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights to intervene in this issue and recommend to the Directorate of School Education, AP government to admit the children of survivors of Human Trafficking and victims of CSE (Sex Workers) in schools by taking their mothers names.

Vimukthi president Apoorva, general secretary Pushpavathi, leaders Mounika and Nagalakshmi were among those, who met the chairperson.