In the wake of killing of a seven year old boy of Gurgaon School and rape of a minor in Delhi school, the center has decided to from an inter-ministerial committee whose sole purpose will be to monitor implementation of safety measures in the schools across the country.
The decision to form a panel was taken during the meeting between Union Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar and WCD minister Maneka Gandhi.
“The existing measures for school safety were reviewed and new suggestions were discussed during the meeting. A committee of six secretaries will be constituted to monitor the implementation and progress of the guidelines,” Maneka told reporters after the meeting.
The panel will consist of secretaries from:
- Human Resource Development
- Women and Child Development Ministry
- Tribal Affairs, Minority Affairs
- Social Justice and Empowerment
- Drinking water and sanitation
Meneka Gandhi further said that secretaries will conduct a series of meeting in which they will prepare a roadmap and timeline for the implementation of the security features suggested by the panel.
In the meeting, it was also suggested that Nirbhaya funds can be used to set up various safety measures in the schools. Further, to make students aware of the child abuse a short film on the same subject matter will also be shown to the students in the schools.
Along with this, authorities will also set up Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) awareness booths and a suggestion to employ women as drivers was also suggested in the meeting.
“Setting of POCSO booths, where students can be made aware of the mechanism to file complaints, screening of ‘Komalʼ — a short film on the concept of good touch, bad touch — were among the measures discussed. We also suggested that Nirbhaya fund can be utilized for the purpose,” Maneka said.
The meeting was also attended by various representatives from National Commission of Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), CBSE, NCERT and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan
Tags: Children Safety
Safety Measures For Children
Safety Of Children In School
Prakash Javadekar
Meneka Gandhi
