Children's Day is observed through­out the country on November 14, every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and seeks to remind the nation of his love for children. The occasion is also meant to reaffirm the nation's commitment to the future citizens of the country for a happy, healthy and safe environment to grow up in.

India has always recognized its chil­dren as the most precious resource as is enshrined in the provisions laid down in the constitution, the National Policy for children and the national development plans. Numerous national programmes and schemes have been launched and implemented to provide essential services to children. Inspite of this the needs are vast and varied and the existing picture of the Indian child remains

rather dismal. A large majority of the 263 million children in the country continue to live in acute poverty deprived of adequate food, clothing, educational and recreational facilities.

The magnitude of the problem is too vast to be dealt with by the Government plans alone. The situation calls for a coordinated and sustained effort from national institutions, voluntary agencies, local bodies and other formal and informal associations and most important of all, the people themselves. Community participation is a must if we are to truly

make our children the pride of our nation.

For their total development they have to be equipped to deal with the world of tomorrow increasingly dependent m modern technology. It is imperative that familiarity with use and appreciation of computers should form an essential part of the children's spectrum of education.

A pilot project is being taken up in 750 higher secondary, schools at the plus-2 level. The programme would cover students of all disciplines-Science, Commerce and Humanities. The programme is expected to be extended to other schools after the completion of the pilot project. The extension of the coverage in the Seventh Five Plan period would be decided after assessing the lessons of the pilot project and taking other relevant aspects into account.

The limited experience of about a year has already shown that children are most enthusiastic and capable of absorbing the knowledge of computer functions and. computer culture. They have also shown creative abilities of a high order by devising software programmes of their own in the CLASS Project Computers which are available in the schools. In fact, judging by the response from students it is clear that the children of India are quite ready to enter the computer age.

The Department of Posts is happy to issue a special postage stamp on Children's Day, 1985.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India