Nagaland launches drive to rescue children from begging, ensure school enrollment

The Nagaland government has launched a comprehensive initiative to identify and enroll children involved in begging into government schools, marking a crucial step toward breaking the cycle of poverty and exploitation.

Following directives from the National Human Rights Commission, the Directorate of School Education issued an official advisory on June 17, 2025, targeting children aged 3-14 years who are either begging themselves or whose parents engage in begging activities.

Principal Director Shashank Pratap Singh has mobilised a wide network of stakeholders, including NGOs, municipal councils, churches, and student unions, to report such cases to the Child Helpline 1098. The initiative specifically focuses on two vulnerable groups: out-of-school children aged 6-14 years who have either never enrolled or dropped out before completing elementary education, and younger children aged 3-6 years whose parents are engaged in begging.

The directive comes as part of a broader effort to rehabilitate impoverished, uneducated children, women, and differently-abled individuals engaged in begging across the state. District Education Officers, Sub-Divisional Education Officers, and their senior counterparts have been instructed to work closely with District Child Protection Units and Child Welfare Committees to facilitate admissions under the Right to Education Act, 2009.