Boards containing messages about child sexual abuse will soon be put up at all Government schools in the district. This initiative is part of the campaign to mark the International Day on Prevention of Child Abuse, observed annually on November 19.
District Collector Archana Patnaik, while chairing a meeting here on Tuesday, said that Headmasters of all Government schools in the district must be directed to install the boards, which would contain pictorial representations on child abuse and how to prevent it.
Officials from the School Education Department, Social Welfare Department and the District Child Protection Unit participated in the meeting.
Coimbatore district had a total of 1,141 Government primary and elementary schools having a total of 1,09,565 students besides another 250 Government high and higher secondary schools.
Chief Education Officer A. Gnanagowri told The Hindu here on Tuesday that the boards would be kept in the rooms of the Headmasters. It might either be in pictorial forms or in words. The messages would be simple with the content varying according to the age of the students in the respective schools.
While the boards would be installed by the School Education Department, the District Child Protection Unit would monitor the implementation of this project.
“The Chennai Corporation has already taken up a similar initiative and had installed boards in their schools. As that project was well-received, we will study their approach and try to replicate it here.”
Further, the Collector also directed the School Education Department officials to clear all trees that have fallen in Government school premises in the recent spell of heavy rains and remove all shrubs and wild plant growth in areas surrounding the school premises.
She also directed the officials to prevent water stagnation near schools as they are potential breeding sources for aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry the dengue-causing virus.
Ms. Patnaik also directed the Chief Educational Officer to get the help of Block Development Officers to fix leaks in the roofs of Government school buildings.
