Bangladesh
Day Care Jail for 10 years if child goes missing from day care center
Dhaka, February 8: The cabinet has approved the draft law with a provision of maximum 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk 5 lakh if a child goes missing from a daycare center.
A virtual cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday (February 8th) gave final approval to the draft of the Child Care Center Act, 2021. From the Ganobhaban, the Prime Minister and Ministers from the Cabinet Division in the Secretariat attended the meeting via video conference.
After the meeting, Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam gave this information in a press briefing. He said, ‘The child daycare center law has been revolving for two and a half years, it has been finalized with a little care in the last three-four months. After the introduction of this law, government, semi-government, autonomous and non-government organizations will be able to set up and operate a class center under their own management as well as operate a children's daycare center by obtaining a registration certificate under the law.
The law details how an individual or organization can set up a child daycare center, the cabinet secretary said. The environment and the necessary facilities must be ensured. The parents of the children have to exchange views with the parents who receive the service once in three months. '
"Once this law is passed, no one will be able to run a child daycare center without approval," he said. It would be a crime to conduct these without approval. Provision has been made to punish the child whose life or safety is endangered, negligence of duty, cruel treatment of the child. Through this, a strong message has been given to everyone, so that no careless or illegal work can be done. '
Khandaker Anwarul Islam said, "If a child goes missing from a child daycare center, he will be jailed for 10 years and fined up to Tk 500,000."
He said the existing child daycare centers would have to register within six months of the new law being passed. After the new law is passed, the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs will make a policy for running child day care centers, where everything will be explained in detail. '
At present, there are 119 child day care centers in Bangladesh under the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs and 20 under the Ministry of Social Welfare, the cabinet secretary said.
