Delhi announces free education, aid for children orphaned by Covi

  Authorities in New Delhi will provide financial aid and sponsor the education of children orphaned in the nation’s capital due to corona...

 

Authorities in New Delhi will provide financial aid and sponsor the education of children orphaned in the nation’s capital due to coronavirus, officials said on Tuesday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also announced 10 kilograms of free food rations this month to poor families struggling during the ongoing lockdown.

Families who lost their breadwinner will get a pension of 2,500 rupees (35 dollars) per month. Children who have lost parents will get a similar amount until they are 25 years old, and their education will be covered by the Delhi government, Kejriwal said in a briefing.

“Children who lost their parents because of corona, all such children should not think of themselves as lonely and helpless, I will stand with them all the time,” Kejriwal said.

Governments of the central states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states also recently announced financial support and free education for children whose parents died of Covid-19, broadcaster NDTV reported.

The eastern state of Jharkhand also said it was committed to providing for children orphaned by Covid-19 and announced financial assistance to caretakers.

India is the second-worst infected country in the world after the US, with a total caseload of 25 million. The Indian government has no overall estimate of children orphaned due to Covid-19.

Child right activists say children, particularly girls, are bearing the brunt of the pandemic.

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Under the impact of the Covid-19, the education of some 290 million children has been affected, and some 6 million children have been pushed out of school, former officials said.

Children are also vulnerable to increased abuse. There are reports of girls being sexually exploited, and many other children are forced to work for low wages.

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