Close at the heels of the ugly murder of a seven-year-old scholar in Gurugram by way of a bus conductor, a five-year-old was raped inside of a washroom of a non-public school in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar by way of a faculty peon. The previous few years have had several reported circumstances across the country, wherein participants of the personnel of a school sexually assaulted a scholar. In maximum such circumstances, the accused was hired on the school just a twinkling of an eye sooner than the incident, often through third-party distributors without correct police verification. Even as security lapses regarding the latest incident continue to return it's prudent to invite, how protected are our schools?
After the rape of a six-year-old in a faculty in Bengaluru in 2014, the Bengaluru Police made background verification of college personnel participants mandatory.
But Praveen Sood, ADGP, says that the issue isn't about verification or prison antecedents. "Child sex abuse is often done by first-time offenders and no police verification can identify a pervert. At best, schools should avoid having men on their staff at least at the primary level, which has very young children who are dependent on adults."
SECURITY LAPSES IN SCHOOLS ARE COMMON; the ONUS IS ON ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE SAFETY
On condition of anonymity, a member of an NGO that offers with the prevention of child abuse, says, "There are guidelines that schools are expected to follow to prevent abuse cases, but who is following up on whether rules are being implemented? Punitive action has been mandated if schools fail to adhere to guidelines. The problem is that no one really checks if everything is in place. When have we last heard of random inspections at schools to check on safety requirements? Who should be doing it? Every time there is an issue, school authorities are hauled up, but why not the Boards that have allowed these schools to function."
Also talking to us on condition of anonymity, a Bengaluru police reputable provides, "Ensuring that guidelines are implemented and followed is the prerogative of the school, education body and the police force. All the stakeholders should work together in ensuring that the school environment is safe for children, but ultimately, the onus lies with the school management to adhere to rules."
SENSITIZING CHILDREN IS CRUCIAL
"Given the current situation, the school management, as well as teachers, have a huge role to play to ensure child safety at the premises and even otherwise. While regularly making rounds of every nook and cranny of the campus, particularly those that are not under CCTV surveillance, keeping a tab on any suspicious behaviour and taking every complaint seriously are among the main parameters that need to be maintained without fail, conducting orientation sessions for the non-teaching staff has become the need of the hour. Most importantly, sensitizing children about inappropriate behaviour by anyone, good and bad touch should be made a priority by every school," says Kavita Ghosh, a trainer at Delhi Public School (Bangalore South).
After the rape of a six-year-old in a faculty in Bengaluru in 2014, the Bengaluru Police made background verification of college personnel participants mandatory.
But Praveen Sood, ADGP, says that the issue isn't about verification or prison antecedents. "Child sex abuse is often done by first-time offenders and no police verification can identify a pervert. At best, schools should avoid having men on their staff at least at the primary level, which has very young children who are dependent on adults."
SECURITY LAPSES IN SCHOOLS ARE COMMON; the ONUS IS ON ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS TO ENSURE SAFETY
On condition of anonymity, a member of an NGO that offers with the prevention of child abuse, says, "There are guidelines that schools are expected to follow to prevent abuse cases, but who is following up on whether rules are being implemented? Punitive action has been mandated if schools fail to adhere to guidelines. The problem is that no one really checks if everything is in place. When have we last heard of random inspections at schools to check on safety requirements? Who should be doing it? Every time there is an issue, school authorities are hauled up, but why not the Boards that have allowed these schools to function."
Also talking to us on condition of anonymity, a Bengaluru police reputable provides, "Ensuring that guidelines are implemented and followed is the prerogative of the school, education body and the police force. All the stakeholders should work together in ensuring that the school environment is safe for children, but ultimately, the onus lies with the school management to adhere to rules."
SENSITIZING CHILDREN IS CRUCIAL
"Given the current situation, the school management, as well as teachers, have a huge role to play to ensure child safety at the premises and even otherwise. While regularly making rounds of every nook and cranny of the campus, particularly those that are not under CCTV surveillance, keeping a tab on any suspicious behaviour and taking every complaint seriously are among the main parameters that need to be maintained without fail, conducting orientation sessions for the non-teaching staff has become the need of the hour. Most importantly, sensitizing children about inappropriate behaviour by anyone, good and bad touch should be made a priority by every school," says Kavita Ghosh, a trainer at Delhi Public School (Bangalore South).
How safe are schools, anyway?
![How safe are schools, anyway?]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
October 23, 2017
Rating:
