Date:02/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/02/stories/2007050217630100.htm

Front Page

Child census to begin today

Special Correspondent

Each child given identification number

Data collected will be digitised

Nearly 26,000 supervisors would oversee the work

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A three-day census of children begins in the State on Wednesday with the objective of collecting basic data for planning.

Kudumbasree and literacy workers and pensioners will act as enumerators for the census, which will cover all localities.

Trained personnel

In an article issued here, Education Minister M.A. Baby said that 1.32-lakh enumerators had been trained for the purpose. Nearly 26,000 supervisors would oversee the work.

The data collected would be digitised and each child would be given an identification number. This would help to track educational progress of the child up to the age of 18. The data on newborn babies would be added from time to time.

Though the compiled data at the State-level would look mechanical, at the grama sabha level, it would be data on those living in the area, which could be used for a different kind of planning.

The Minister urged the local self-governments to lead the census operations, realising the multiple dimensions of the activity.