Educate children, Puducherry CM tells parents

PUDUCHERRY: Chief Minister N Rangasamy said that parents with children under the age of 14 must educate their wards by sending them to school. In a release on the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labour, he said sending children under the age of 14 for labour was punishable under law and it would suppress the growth of mankind.The All India Namathu Rajyam Congress (AINRC) chief said that his government was taking all possible steps to ensure quality education to all children in order to make them good citizens. He sought the support of the parents and common people for the purpose. Puducherry was  a state free of child labour and he urged people to take an oath to keep it thus.Meanwhile, the labour department, under the orders of its commissioner Malarkannan, has started checking various shops and establishments in order to ascertain whether they have employed children under 14 on their premises. Four teams have been formed for the purpose. A team, led by G Selvaraj, assistant labour inspector, checked the shops on Nehru Street for this purpose.