The alleged sexual assault on a six-year-old girl by two staff members of a school in Marathahalli has sent shock waves across the city. More worrying is that this is not an isolated case. And yet, there are no safety or security guidelines for schools and pre-schools.
Repeated pleas by parents’ groups for effective guidelines through the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) have gone in vain.
The Vigilant Citizen, a parents’ group, framed guidelines on safety and security of students and submitted it to the DPI in March this year. Some of the guidelines include setting up of an independent body for each school to conduct surprise audits every month, installation of CCTV cameras, strict monitoring of private vehicles used by schoolchildren, making licensing and regulation of pre-schools mandatory and police verification of all staff members.
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The group also suggested that an awareness campaign be held in school on child sexual abuse for parents and children.
Gayathri Ananth, member of the group, said that though each case receives a knee-jerk response, there are no policy changes.
She also said that several cases of sexual abuse and assault are not reported and setting up committees would help address the issue.
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Chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights H.R. Umesh Aradhya said the commission would write to the DPI to frame guidelines. He added that the commission, with the Police Department, would conduct workshops on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in schools.
A committee, headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, with members from various departments, was formed to look into safety of children. Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammad Mohsin said he had urged the Department of Women and Child Development to frame guidelines for pre-schools. “We are in the process of working on the guidelines for schools, which will be formulated after consultation with other departments,” he said.