Bringing children to office is a human rights violation

When the schools are closed for summer vacation, government offices turn into playgrounds and the Kerala State Human Rights Commission has directed the government to put a complete ban on this.

It’s a common practice—during summer vacations, children of many government employees occupy their seats in government offices!

The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has termed this as a human rights violation. In an order issued on April 4, the Commission has asked the State Government to issue an order banning government officers from bringing their wards to work, take immediate steps to stop the practice, and file a report to the Commission.

The Commission is of the view that by bringing kids to their workplace, parents are doing them more harm than good. It has asked the parents to find alternatives to keep the kids engaged in a creative way rather than wasting the time and resources of the government.

In its report, the Commission stated that the general public visits government offices seeking solutions to their problems, but when the schools are closed for summer vacation, these government offices turn into playgrounds, which should not be allowed.

The Commission also points out that most of the chairs in the government offices are now being occupied by children. “Computers in most offices are being used by kids. Similarly, government files and papers are being given to the children to draw pictures,” the Commission has pointed out.

When senior officials’ wards come to office, the lower-grade staff gets busy entertaining them, which is again a loss of productive time at the expense of the government.

However, many employees have not taken this order in good humour. Especially in cases where both the husband and wife are working, leaving their children elsewhere is also a genuine problem. Many find
the private crèches and summer camps unaffordable.

The State Government should provide for a play area or a crèche for children, which is now a mandate for many private organisations that focus on employee benefits.