'Accurate database on children vital for various projects'

Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE

'It has been revealed that there is no proper mechanism or updated database to get information about children. This situation has become a great hindrance to the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry when taking steps in the child development sector,' an official said.

An accurate database on children is vital for various projects carried out by the Child Development and Women's Empowerment Ministry.

Besides various other institutions and organisations, such as, the Education Ministry, Social Services Department, Non Governmental Organisations and so on frequently carry out such programmes for the betterment of children based on available databases for children.

As a result of not having a proper database, these institutions lag behind when such programmes are implemented.

Considering this situation, the Child Development and Women's Empowerment Ministry has taken initiatives to form an up-to-date database with the ministry.

Therefore, the ministry has planned to gather information and the necessary data on children, the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry official said.

Meanwhile, the Education Ministry also gathers data of school children through the School Census programme. The accuracy of the school census database is comparatively high since the census is carried out annually. Then, the Child Development and Women's Affairs Ministry can get the necessary data from the School Census database, an Education Ministry source said.

However, he further said that school census programme does not cover the entire child population in the country but only children in the school system.