Are security measures in Goan schools up to scratch? That is the question that most people across the State have been asking in the past week. And the question arose from incidents that happened elsewhere in the country.
The country was still recovering from the shock of the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old boy in a Gurugram school, when it learnt of the alleged rape of a five-year-old girl inside the premises of the school in East Delhi. The spotlight soon fell on safety of students in schools, with parents across the country worried about their little ones who spend five to six hours a day in school, and whether they are safe there.
While these incidents happened in North India, students’ safety is as much an issue in Goa, especially since the rape of the 7-year-old girl in a school in Vasco that occurred in 2013, as anywhere else. The person who committed the rape in Vasco walks free as he is still to be found, over four and a half years later. As police are unable to get any leads to that case, the only solace that parents can get is that there is adequate security in the schools to keep their young ones case.
The Vasco rape case led to a circular from the Directorate of Education and also guidelines from the Goa State Commission for Women that listed out points for security in schools. Security guards, CCTV cameras, compound walls, lady assistants and also registers for visitors are the least of the security measures that can be installed in the schools.
As an aftermath of the Delhi crimes, Herald’s spot check on security in schools found that not all schools have adhered to the guidelines. This has been admitted to by the Education Department, that conceded that there are schools that have not yet implemented all the safety guidelines.
The Herald ground report found that most Canacona schools lack basic infrastructure that includes a compound wall and with some schools close to the highway, there is the added threat of accidents. Schools in Bardez and Pernem claimed to have security measures in place, but wouldn’t provide details. In Ponda, except for a few private schools, the others have not security measures, not even proper security guards and it is the teachers and staff who also do the policing job is some schools. Not a single school in Sattari has CCTV cameras and many don’t have even a compound. In Vasco, some schools have adopted security measures and others have not. Schools at the Cujira complex are a different story, and here there are security measures in place, but can schools in the rest of the State have similar measures in place?
The safety of students should not be taken lightly. While the onus is on school managements to have measures in place to protect the children, the government schools are perhaps those that have the least security in the State. While private schools have taken steps to tighten the security, the government too has to step up the security in its schools. Parents too have a role to play in ensuring that the schools have adequate security measures in place.
In 2013, the then Education Director has said ‘It is time to move from indignation to action’. While it was quite rightly said, unfortunately, the action appears to be slow to come and the indignation still remains. Children are still at risk is schools in the country from predators and the action to put an end to this threat is desperately required. How long will we remain merely indignant?
