Pune: The state education department ’s slew of guidelines for all schools to ensure safety of students issued on Wednesday after the Badlapur incident came in for flak from activists. A govt notification on Wednesday mandated the education officer to set up a student safety committee in schools like POSH panels in workplaces within a week. All schools must install adequate number of CCTV cameras at strategic locations within one month.
Non-compliance will result in withholding of grants or revoking the school's recognition. The school’s management must obtain a character verification report from the local police of the persons appointed. Priority should be given to intake of women staff for students up to six years old.
But activist Mukund Kirdat, a member of AAP Parents’ Association, said there was nothing new in the guidelines. He added that the education department repeating instructions all over again seems like an eyewash. “We need to know how many of these rules are followed by the schools.
Many CCTV cameras installed by govt schools are not working. Fire-fighting equipment non-functional,” he added. Sheetal Dhekne, member of Pune District School Parents' Association, said children must be safe in schools and every individual whether in school or outside should take responsibility for their safety.
“Govt should do much more than just issue guidelines. Most of the time they remain on paper. Nobody knows how many schools follow them.
The school’s management must be held responsible for any violation,” she added. Installation of CCTV cameras in schools and surrounding areas is compulsory for all schools. Govt and local self-government schools that have not yet installed CCTV cameras should prioritise it.
Commissioner of education Suraj Mandhare, said students’ safety is paramount and govt is taking serious cognisance of some unfortunate incidents. “Directives have been issued from time to time by govt about measures for the safety of school students, especially girls. There can be no compromise.
A proposal for the effective implementation of existing measures and the introduction of new ones was under govt consideration," he added. A previous notification govt said a minimum of 5% of the funds under the District Annual (General) Plan related to school education and sports department should be set aside for the construction of infrastructure, and the reserved funds can be utilised for installing CCTV cameras. The school management committee will be responsible, the notification added.
Mandhare said that merely installing CCTV cameras in schools and surrounding areas is not sufficient, it is also imperative to check the footage regularly. This responsibility and taking action on any objectionable matters lies with the headmaster and with the school management committee. According to the notification, the headmaster must conduct inspections at least three times a week.
There should be a control room in the school and the footage should be checked under the supervision of the headmaster. If any objectionable matters are found in the footage, the headmaster should contact the local police administration and take appropriate action. In his statement, upper secretary of the state education department Pramod Patil, said that the school management must conduct a thorough background check into appointments of non-teaching staff made through external sources or on a contractual basis, such as security guards, cleaners, assistants, school bus drivers, etc.
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