Child Rights and Legislation (RTE, POCSO, JJ Act) — Hard

Q1. Assertion (A): In India, different statutes — the Census, IPC 1860, the Constitution, the Child Labour Act 1986 and the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 — fix different age limits for a 'child'. Reason (R): The Universal Declaration of Child Rights permits each country to determine the age of the child according to its own laws. Choose the correct option

• A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
• B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
• C. (A) is true but (R) is false.
• D. (A) is false but (R) is true.

Q2. Which of the following statements about the age of a 'child' under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 is NOT correct?

• A. Under Section 83 of the IPC, the age of criminal responsibility is generally seven years.
• B. For a child of unsound mind, the IPC raises the relevant age to twelve years.
• C. The IPC age is the same as the Census of India age of fourteen years.
• D. The IPC ages (7 and 12) differ from the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 age of eighteen.

Q3. Ms. Suman, a primary teacher in a school in Rampur, plans a weekly session in which children read library books, play kabaddi, learn folk songs and access age-appropriate science magazines. She tells the head: 'I want to build their skills and strength along with their education.' Which child right is she most directly implementing?

• A. Right to Survival — because she is meeting their basic physical needs
• B. Right to Development — because the right covers education, play, leisure, information and the building of skills and strength
• C. Right to Participation — because she is letting them speak in class
• D. Right to Protection — because she is shielding them from abuse

Q4. Anjali, a Class 4 student in a government primary school, scores very poorly in the year-end test. The head teacher proposes to retain her in Class 4 for another year. Under the RTE Act, 2009 'no-detention' provision, the correct action of the school is to

• A. Detain Anjali in Class 4 till she passes the year-end test
• B. Promote Anjali to Class 5 and provide additional learning support, because the Act prohibits detention up to the elementary stage
• C. Ask Anjali's parents to pay for extra classes before promotion
• D. Conduct a fresh admission test before deciding her class

Q5. A private unaided school in Lucknow refuses admission to 6-year-old Ramesh because (i) he could not clear a written admission test and (ii) his parents could not produce a birth certificate. Under the RTE Act, 2009, which of the following is correct?

• A. Both actions are valid under the RTE Act, 2009.
• B. Only the admission test is invalid; refusing for no birth certificate is valid.
• C. Only the birth-certificate condition is invalid; the admission test is valid.
• D. Both actions violate the RTE Act, 2009 — the Act bars admission tests and refusal for want of age proof.

Q6. Statement A: The RTE Act, 2009 puts into operation the fundamental right to free and compulsory education enshrined in Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. Statement B: The Constitutional age band of Article 21A and the RTE Act, 2009 are different — 21A covers 0–6 years and RTE covers 6–14 years. Which is correct?

• A. Both A and B are correct.
• B. A is correct; B is incorrect — both 21A and the RTE Act, 2009 cover the same age band, six to fourteen years.
• C. A is incorrect; B is correct.
• D. Both A and B are incorrect.

Q7. In a primary school in Ghaziabad, a teacher slaps a Class 3 child for failing a spelling test and makes the child stand outside in the sun for an hour. Under the RTE Act, 2009, this is best described as

• A. A permissible disciplinary measure
• B. A violation of the Act's 'no physical and mental harassment' provision, attracting action against the teacher
• C. Permitted because the parents were not informed in writing
• D. Permitted only if the school's managing committee approves

Q8. Which of the following statements about the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is NOT correct?

• A. It was introduced by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• B. Under the Act, a 'child' is a person below the age of eighteen years.
• C. The POCSO Rules, 2012 entrusted monitoring of the Act to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
• D. Under the Act, the age limit of a child is fourteen years, the same as Article 21A.

Q9. Match List I (UNCRC Article) with List II (Right protected) and choose the correct combination: List I (a) Article 1 (b) Article 19 (c) Article 32 (d) Article 37 List II (i) Protection from economic exploitation (ii) Definition of a child as a person below 18 years (iii) No cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment (iv) Protection from all forms of physical or mental violence

• A. (a)-(ii), (b)-(iv), (c)-(i), (d)-(iii)
• B. (a)-(i), (b)-(ii), (c)-(iii), (d)-(iv)
• C. (a)-(iv), (b)-(iii), (c)-(ii), (d)-(i)
• D. (a)-(iii), (b)-(i), (c)-(iv), (d)-(ii)

Q10. Which one of the following pairings of national institution and date of constitution/formation is correct?

• A. NCPCR — 12 October 1993
• B. NHRC — March 2007
• C. NHRC — 12 October 1993
• D. NCPCR — December 1993

Q11. Which of the following statements about the constitutional location of children's protection in India, is NOT correct?

• A. Provisions for child survival, development and protection are found in Part III and Part IV of the Constitution.
• B. Part III contains the Fundamental Rights.
• C. Part IV contains the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• D. Article 39(f) is a Fundamental Right under Part III dealing with child labour.

Q12. Eight-year-old Reena confides to her Class 3 teacher in a Delhi government school that an older neighbour repeatedly touches her in a way that frightens her. In the light of the POCSO Act and the teacher's duties, the BEST first response of the teacher is to

• A. Tell Reena that she must have misunderstood and ask her to forget it
• B. Listen to Reena carefully, assure her of safety, and report the suspected POCSO violation to the appropriate authority while protecting her confidentiality
• C. Wait for the next parent-teacher meeting and mention it casually
• D. Punish Reena for talking about adult matters in class

Q13. Ms. Geeta, a Class 2 teacher in a primary school in Patna, has a child with low vision and a child with a speech delay in her class. She adapts the seating, uses large-print cards and gives extra response time. Her action would MOST directly be labelled as

• A. Reducing the burden of work on the teacher
• B. Creating an inclusive classroom that respects the child's right to development and protection from discrimination
• C. Streaming the class by ability
• D. A purely administrative compliance with school rules

Q14. Arrange the following Indian policy / scheme initiatives for child welfare in correct chronological (earliest → latest) order: (i) First Five-Year Plan emphasising child welfare (ii) Setting up of the Department of Social Security (iii) Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) (iv) National Policy on Child Labour

• A. (i) → (ii) → (iv) → (iii)
• B. (i) → (ii) → (iii) → (iv)
• C. (ii) → (i) → (iii) → (iv)
• D. (iii) → (i) → (ii) → (iv)

Q15. Mr. Mahesh, a Class 5 teacher in a school in Rampur, notices that 11-year-old Asif comes to school with bruises and confides that his uncle forces him to work in a small workshop after school. Reading together the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, the teacher's PRIMARY duty is to

• A. Ignore the matter as it happens outside school hours
• B. Engage Asif in informal discussion, document the concern, and report the suspected child-labour and child-right violations to the concerned authority (school head / police / Child Welfare Committee)
• C. Punish Asif's uncle personally without informing anyone
• D. Ask Asif to stop coming to school until the matter is resolved