Children should be educated with proper means of academic and social education in order to develop them as worthy citizens.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Mayor Md Atiqul Islam made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the "National Child Rights Week-2021" at Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed Park in Gulshan on Sunday morning.
The DNCC Mayor said that the theme of World Children's Day 2021 is "Invest in Children, Build a Prosperous World" which is timely and very significant.
"Today's children are the future of the nation, they will lead the society and the state in the future; they will be rich in knowledge, practice and technology and will build a new world that will benefit the whole country," he said.
The mayor said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, daughter of Bangabandhu, has been adopting and implementing various laws, policies and action plans to ensure education, nutrition, protection and rights of children. Along with the government, DNCC is also working to establish children's rights and create a child-friendly environment.
The mayor said six parks with CCTV cameras, boundary walls and security will be opened for children soon. They will also have arrangements so that street children could play at a certain time regularly.
He added that DNCC is providing ‘children's corners’ in 14 parks with special facilities. In each ward, one road will be kept car-free for children to play at least one day every month.
He directed the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to expedite the opening of the field in J-block for the children.
All the children in the DNCC areas, zero to two years of age will be given a sapling as a gift along with their birth certificates. Additionally, under the leadership of the local councillor in each ward, necessary instructions will be given for conducting a campaign against child marriage,” said the mayor.
He added that the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives has been requested to hand over the responsibility of issuing birth and death registration certificates to the councillors of the city corporations as soon as possible.
The event was presided over by World Vision Bangladesh National Director Suresh Bartlett. Members of the Parliament Shabnam Jahan Sheela and Nahid Izhar Khan along with DNCC Chief Executive Officer Md Selim Reza and Chief Health Officer Brigadier General Md Jobaidur Rahman spoke as special guests.
