: A day after the incident of sexual assault on a nursery student by the school bus conductor of Presidium School in Gurgaon’s Sector 57 came to light, parents from across the city took to social networking websites to demand strict action against the school authorities.
Reacting to a news clipping on the incident shared on Gurgaon Parents for Better Education, a Facebook forum, one of the parents said “this is appalling. Too much.., high time schools become accountable. After all we leave our most precious kids with them for half of their day...[sic]”.
Another parent, Jyoti Sangwan, said “all must feel this anger...our judiciary should come up with faster and sterner verdicts if this menace is to come down [sic]”.
Seeking exemplary punishment for the accused, Anjana Mahajan said “it’s really shameful... No mercy... He should be hanged till death...Should be a lesson for all disgusting people [sic].”
Blaming the schools for charging exorbitant fee and paying little attention to the safety of the students, Harleen Wason said “are these schools just money making machines.. they charge a bomb and can't guarantee most basic things. My heart goes out to the poor kid and her parents.. This has to stop somewhere [sic]”.
School blamed
Angry parents said strict action should be taken against the school authorities for “lapse on their part”.
Narender Suraj Atri said “not only should the culprit be punished, even the school administration should be taken to task. It’s their duty to check the credentials of their employees [sic]”.
Tripti Singh, administrator, Gurgaon Parents for Better Education, said together with the administrators of such forums and parents’ associations, she would contact the local administration to seek action against the school.
Deputy Commissioner T.L. Satyaprakash said, “I have directed the Regional Transport Authority secretary to probe the matter. If there are any lapses on the part of the school, appropriate action will be taken.”
Meanwhile, the school has issued a statement saying “the bus is fully equipped with cameras, and one female guard is also deputed on the bus. The moment the school got to know about the incident, it immediately reported the matter to the police. The entire campus is also under CCTV surveillance”.
