Covid-19: Over 1 lakh children lost one or both parents during pandemic, child rights body tells SC

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that over 1 lakh children lost one or both of their parents during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hindustan Times reported.

According to the NCPCR’s affidavit, a total of 1,01,32 children either lost one or both of their parents, or were abandoned between April 1, 2020, and August 23, 2021. Of these, 92,475 children lost one parents, 8,161 children became orphans and 396 children were abandoned.

The child rights body clarified that the fatalities mentioned in the affidavit included both deaths due to the coronavirus and deaths due to other reasons. The data was uploaded by states and Union territories on the NCPCR’s Bal Swaraj portal, which tracks children in need of care and protection.

It filed the affidavit in response to a suo motu case in the Supreme Court on the challenges faced by children affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

During a hearing of the case on Thursday, the Supreme Court directed state governments to ensure that children who became orphans during the Covid-19 pandemic are able to continue their studies in private schools without disruptions for at least the current academic year, Live Law reported.

The court suggested that state governments either pay a part of the fees for such students or ask…

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