CBSE safety Guidelines finally issued

Finally after the recent incident where the 7-year-old Pradhuman Thakur was stabbed twice for not agreeing to the 41- year-old Ashok Kumar's sexual demands, the Central Board of Secondary Education has issued a notice containing guidelines to ensure a child's safety.

Regarding the wake of the recent incidents, many schools are involving parents in committees set to improve security.

Source: free press journal

Priyank Kanoongo, member-RTE and Education at National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has stated that “A student was found murdered in Ranchi. A student drowned in a swimming pool at Bhopal. Such incidents are happening everywhere, in urban and rural schools. But it happens more so in private schools because there is lack of vigilance,”.

“We have time and again taken suggestions from parents on security but of late, parents are still anxious so we have decided to include some parents in our security committee. Many have agreed to even visit the school on a regular basis to ensure security is in place and we have agreed to come to a conclusion on the same,” said Rohan Bhat, principal of Children’s Academy in Mumbai’s Malad.

The CBSE guidelines that have been issued states that schools restrict access to their buildings and monitor any foreign vehicles and visitors. A few schools in Ludhiana have started issuing ID cards to parents. The law enforcement agencies have requested the schools to check the criminal records of the working staff.

The CBSE guidelines also state that the isolated parts of a school be monitored constantly by CCTV cameras.

The new safety guidelines issued are as follows:

• Schools will need to conduct safety/security audits of their premises and employees from the respective local police station within the next two months.
  
• Install CCTV cameras at all vulnerable points in the school premises and ensure it is functional at all times.
  
• Police verification and psychometric evaluation must be conducted by all staff employees, emphasizing this be done meticulously for non-teaching staff as well like bus conductors, drivers, peon, and other support staff.
  
• Ensure support staff is employed by authorized agencies and maintain proper records of them as well.
  
• Constitute parent-teacher-students committee to address security and safety needs of students while taking regular feedback from parents as well.
  
• Closely monitor access to school buildings by outsiders and visitors.
  
• Provide training and development to staff to protect children from any form of abuse.
  
• Schools shall also constitute a separate committee for redressal of public, staff, students, and parents grievances, internal complaint committee on sexual harassment and committee under Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act. Details of all these committees along with the contact details must be displayed prominently on the school notice board and conspicuously on the school website as well.
  

CBSE also stated that if any affiliated school fails to follow the board-issued guidelines or violate them, they might lose their affiliation.

“Just one or even ten cameras are not sufficient. At Bal Bharti Public School in Pitampura, we have 300 such cameras in every corner of the school. But how many schools will actually be able to afford it?” asked Bhattacharya.

Many people still do feel that the CCTV may not be sufficient since many cases of Murder and abuse have recently awakened and chances are still high in areas that are in surveillance blind spots, such as toilets. Parents have requested in schools for attendants in toilets for the safety of children.

“We do not let our students leave unless it is with a person holding a valid parent ID card, or with people who have been authorized by the parents,” said SK Bhattacharya, secretary of Delhi’s Bal Bharati Public School and president of the School Action Committee.

Is it required that in India someone be killed or molested, so that the government feels the heat on the issue and takes an action against it?