After two incidents of gruesome crimes against children were reported in the National Capital Region last week, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued new safety and security guidelines for all schools. The schools will face de-recognition if they don’t follow the guidelines.
On September 8, a seven-year-old boy was found murdered inside a school in Gurugram and the next day a five-year-old girl was raped in a school in east Delhi. In its notification on Tuesday, the CBSE said the onus of keeping students safe within schools would “solely lie upon the school authorities”.
Healthy environment
“Children are spending most of their time in school, the concern of parents about the safety of school children is increasing every other day. It is a fundamental right of a child to engage and study in an environment where he or she feels safe and is free from any form of physical or emotional abuse or harassment,” the notification said.
Among the instructions issued by the CBSE were safety audits of schools done by their respective local police stations, installation of CCTV cameras at all vulnerable areas inside schools and limiting the entry of outsiders.
The CBSE asked the schools to ensure that support staff was employed only from authorised agencies and proper records are maintained. “Verification and evaluation for non-teaching staff such as, bus drivers, conductors, peon and other support staff may be done very carefully and in a detailed manner,” the directive read.
Additionally, schools were also asked to constitute separate committees for redressal of grievances of the public, staff, parents and students. Further, the board also directed the schools to constitute an internal complaints committee for complaints regarding sexual harassment and committees under Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 2012. “Details of these committees along with contact details shall be displayed prominently on school notice boards and conspicuously on the school website for information of all stakeholders” said the CBSE.
Making guidelines mandatory for all schools, the notification said, “Any violation or lapses with regard to safety and well being of children in school campus would invite appropriate action including the disaffiliation of the school as per the provisions under affiliation bye-laws of the board.”
