Steps are being taken to roll out a curriculum on programmes to prevent sexual abuse in schools before the commencement of the next academic year, according to the State government. The submission was made before Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas when the case relating to implementation of the programmes in schools came up for hearing.
The Director General of Education who appeared online in response to the court directive submitted that an eight-member expert committee had chalked out a long-term and a short-term programme at its meeting held on February 23 to implement the programme.
Training soon
The process of preparing the curriculum was still on. However, the main programme, which includes giving training to students of high schools, higher secondary, vocational higher secondary schools, would be implemented immediately. In the case of lower primary students, parents would be given training.
The court said that Rule 3 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) rules made it mandatory for the government to prepare an age-appropriate educational material and curriculum for children, informing them about various aspects of personal safety. However, the government waited for the court to issue a directive.
The court also directed that Parvathy Menon, Project Coordinator of Victims Rights Centre under the KESLA, be made a member of the expert committee.
