“Why should adults decide children’s safety when children are the ones who are affected by it? We can give a better perspective,” said teenager Niketa Nerurkar, a former student of Inventure Academy. Her question opened Saturday’s session on children’s safety in schools, organised by The Hindu , as part of the #whatsyourissue campaign.
Students, teachers, private school managements and activists met with officials from the Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Women and Child Development. The efficacy of the Child Protection Policy (CPC) was one of the key issues taken up.
Niketa highlighted that safety was more than just physical safety, but covered even the mental well-being of a child. Students shared initiatives that worked for them in their school. Priyanka and Kavita from Government Model Tamil and Kannada Medium Higher Primary School, Cleveland Town, said one way to get students to take on responsibility was to set up a cabinet in school, have children represent various ministries, such as food, home, education, and so on. Such a system would bring in more accountability, they said.
Sanjana Sundar, a class 11 student of Delhi Public School East, said her school had started a system of bus buddies where a student representative would be chosen to monitor peers in the bus. The idea was to ensure that children had a place to sit, get off at the right spot, etc.
Adding to the discussion, Nooraine Fazal, managing trustee of Inventure Academy said that one solution may not fit all children, and highlighted the need for a personalised plan for each school.
Peter Morris, parent of a class 5 student, expressed his frustration over the fact that his child’s school outsourced transport, making it difficult for parents to hold the school accountable for any problem. He pointed out that despite the transport guidelines, around 15 students were found travelling in a crowded private van.
Every parent was concerned about the threat of harassment and molestation. Gayathri Ananth of the Vigilant Citizen, a parents’ group, suggested that lessons about good and bad touch would often send confusion signals to children. “There is a need to ensure that the right messages reach the students, one that is age appropriate,” she said.
All the issues, be it the threat of molestation or student safety in buses, are covered in the CPC.
To a question on how the government would plan to ensure that the policy was implemented in spirit, Commissioner for Public Instruction Sowjanya said the primary objective of the policy was not to penalise but to ensure that a justice system for protection of children was put in place.
Uma Mahadevan, Principal Secretary of Department of Women and Child Development, added that the policy’s aim was to ensure that children were not victims. It’s about helping them grow into empowered young people. She cautioned that the mechanisms in schools should be designed in a way that it not does not appear intrusive to children.
Uma Mahadevan, Principal Secretary, Department of Women and Child Development
The implementation of the Child Protection Policy needs to be realistic — affordable and culturally appropriate.
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Nooraine Fazal, managing trustee and co-founder, Inventure Academy
Conducting safety audits and rating schools based on safety could be a possible method to encourage schools to comply with the CPC
