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HIGHLIGHTS
Parents’ Suggestions
Feedback from parents should be taken in the right stride by school authorities.
PTA should have more authority and a right to put their points across in all school matters, especially when it comes to the safety of their children.
No child, especially small kids, should be allowed to go alone to the washroom.
There should be zero tolerance for non-compliance with child safety guidelines.
Official authorities should conduct regular checks in schools to ensure that they have implemented safety measures.
Schools should take the help of professional counsellors/psychologists to interview potential recruits.
Over the past two days, twin incidents of students getting assaulted in their school premises have been reported from the National Capital. Close on the heels of the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old in Gurgaon's Ryan International School by a bus conductor, a five-year-old was raped inside the washroom of a private school in East Delhi's Gandhi Nagar by a peon.
The news has sent shockwaves across the country, including Mumbai, which has witnessed similar crimes during the past two-three months. In August, the sweeper of a Kharghar school was held for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old student. A few days prior to that, another four-year-old girl was assaulted by her school's peon. In June this year, the trustee of a prominent Mumbai school was booked for raping a three-year-old student.
These incidents are a chilling reminder that our children are not safe anywhere anymore. So, what can be done to ensure their safety? Are there lapses in the security measures implemented by schools? How can parents prepare their children to ward off such predators? BT spoke to parents and school authorities across the city to answer these questions.
Parents feel helpless
While they are obviously worried, most parents say that they feel helpless when it comes to ensuring their children's safety in schools. "It is really sad to see the increase child abuse incidents in schools. Earlier, I used to consider them as safe as home, but the reality is, our children are not safe anywhere. As a mother, I am extremely disturbed, but also feel helpless," says Nita Varma, an Andheri-based photographer, who has two kids.
Agrees Jasmine Kaur Chandok, a senior IT professional from Andheri, "These incidents are alarming. Quarterly audits must be done to check if schools comply with safety, hygiene and awareness norms. If they fail, their licence must be cancelled."
Demand for additional security measures
There are many who also feel that better security measures should be implemented. Manisha Sonawane, a teacher and mother of an eight-year-old boy, says, "As a parent, I always live in fear, as boys are as unsafe as girls these days. Apart from implementing strict security measures, schools should encourage parental involvement in administrative matters, as their presence might deter pedophiles. I personally feel that parents should make time to volunteer at their children's schools, no matter how busy they are."
Sunil Mattoo, a Goregaon-based businessman, adds, "School authorities should give an undertaking to the government that they will take every possible step to ensure the safety of their children and that their staff will be vigilant. CCTV cameras should be installed at every nook and corner of the school and any missing footage should be considered an offence. If there's any area that's left without CCTV coverage, it should be considered negligence, which should be punishable by authorities. Schools must make it mandatory to employ a team that will check CCTV footage live, thus ensuring immediate intervention. Also, every school should get their employees' police verification done."
Aparna Purohit (name changed), who has two kids studying in the Malad school where a peon had raped a three-year-old girl in early August, says that the school has implemented additional measures post the incident. "The school now has lady security officers, which does lend a sense of safety. While they had CCTVs earlier too, they have increased the number of cameras now. Also, now, only parents are allowed on the school premises, and that too only those with a valid ID card. However, they still do not agree to conducting the 'good touch, bad touch' workshop for kids despite parents insisting on the same."
Harsh Punishment Needed
Many parents also feel that background checks can be manipulated, staff can be bribed and security is never enough. So, the only deterrent is stringent punishment for those caught in such acts. "I feel that security is secondary; the punishment should be so severe that these potential criminals will think twice before committing such heinous acts. I am completely in favour of castration, that too in public, says an enraged Manisha. Agrees Sunil, "There should be a harsher punishment i.e., death penalty for such crimes."
Authorities Speak
Arundhati Chavan, the president of Parents Teacher Association (PTA), says, "Hardly 25 per cent of schools have implemented security and safety measures. Many schools don't even have basic preventive measures like CCTV cameras and there are no security personnel manning the gates either. PTAs need to be empowered. A few years back, the association was involved in school security and other activities. Parents, too, would offer help and volunteer. They would take turns to monitor their children's basic requirements and take initiatives. However, now, school managements consider the PTAas a threat. In my experience, schools often shirk off responsibilities when under the scanner for such cases. They are under the impression that nothing wrong can take place on their premises. Even when some incident takes place, they will refuse to acknowledge it and take action only kyunki school ka naam kharaab hoga ."
On the other hand, school authorities insist that they are doing everything possible to keep their students safe. Avnita Bir, director-principal, RN Podar School, says, "Apart from safety measures like CCTV cameras and doing regular background checks of employees, what we need now is a safety audit. Schools need to be vigilant all the time. A CCTV is a deterrent, not a preventive measure. We need to understand that in these cases, we are dealing with human beings. Some areas in the school like computer rooms, library, washrooms are sensitive areas. So, we need to sensitise the support staff. Also, the entry and exit of people on the campus needs to be closely monitored. The biggest challenge I'm finding in schools is that staff retention is a big concern, especially when they are contractual staff. If new people are recruited by consulting agencies it becomes difficult to do a background check and there's no staff stability."
Dr Chandrakanta Pathak, principal, HVB Global Academy, adds, "It is not easy for any human being to keep an eye 24X7, but we still try our best. Our school is involving parent community in all this and they are given equal responsibilities. You need to delegate — my people are my real CCTVs. While we have CCTVs everywhere, we are planning to install one in the elevator, too."
She adds, "We have a committee to prevent women's harassment. Along with one girl from each class, two parents, a teacher and two counsellors are a part of it. There's also a bus committee where each parent, at least twice a year, needs to go inside the bus and check who the driver and conductor are and if the CCTVs there are functional. A background check is done, but it becomes difficult when it comes to contractual workers like electricians and plumbers, as they are from different parts of the country. Schools should be more proactive, take onus of their mistakes. Until we are receptive to ideas and suggestions, we will never be able to curb the problem."
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