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Amidst Increasing Crimes Against Kids, Govt Forms Panel To Monitor Safety Measures In Schools

The high-level meeting comes amidst increasing number of reported crimes against children in schools.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images

NEW DELHI -- The Centre on Monday decided to form an inter-ministerial committee to monitor implementation of safety measures in its schools across the country in the wake of the brutal killing of a student in Gurgaon and rape of a girl allegedly by a school peon in the national capital.

The decision was taken during a meeting between Union HRD minister Prakash Javadekar and WCD minister Maneka Gandhi. It was also suggested that Nirbhaya funds, set up in the aftermath of the brutal gangrape of a physiotherapy student in New Delhi, can be utilised for various school safety measures.

"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 high-level meeting comes amidst increasing number of reported crimes against children in school which has sparked a debate over the existing safety measures within premises of educational institutions.

The committee will have secretaries of Human Resource Development, Women and Child Development Ministry, Tribal Affairs, Minority Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment and Drinking water and sanitation and will conduct a series of meetings to develop a roadmap as well as a timeline for implementation of the measures recommended, she said.

Employing women drivers, screening of a short film about child abuse in schools and setting up of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) awareness booths were among the suggestions discussed during the fifty-minute-long meeting.

"Setting of POCSO booths, where students can be made aware of the mechanism to file complaints, screening of Komal -- a short film on the concept of good touch, bad touch-- were among the measures discussed. We also suggested that Nirbhaya fund can be utilised for the purpose," Maneka said.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), CBSE, NCERT and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan.

Greater and well-defined roles for the Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs) in safety and security aspects of school operations, expansion of the scope of School Management Committee (SMCs) to private schools, implementation of Gender Champions programme in schools were among the existing measures reviewed during the meeting.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.