NCPA Chairperson, Dr. Natasha Balendra, addressing the media at the Information Department said that training of teachers and developing the school curriculum would be an onerous task.

Dr. Balendra said the NCPA had planned out several programmes to help parents, teachers and service providers create a more child friendly environment. The media, public and government organisations had focused mainly on the criminal aspects of child abuse. "It is important that there are strong criminal laws against child abuse which are effectively and expediently implemented so that such acts aren’t perpetrated" she said. It was only then that the public, too, would have faith in the justice dispensation system, she said.

Dr. Balendra said the main focus of the NCPA was to prevent such incidents from occurring.

The child spent a major part of the day in school. Many of the calls and complaints that the NCPA had received had originated from incidents that had happened schools, said the NCPA chairperson.

The NCPA would be working to strengthen over 2,000 School Child Protection Committees established over a year through monthly training programmes. Special training would be given to counselor teachers in schools of some areas during the pilot project, Dr. Balendra said.

A Rs, 50 million budget had been allocated to the NCPA for carrying out training programmes for child care workers.

(Island.lk)