With the start of the new academic year 2015-16, educational institutions, particularly schools, are required to strictly implement new guidelines issued by the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development (HRD) to ensure safety and security of students in schools. The Union Government’s guidelines warn schools that have secluded rooms / corners within the campus can prove hazardous for children, especially girls. Schools have also been told to create awareness among its teachers about the rights of the child, to do away with corporal punishments and also to train teachers to rid their own mind of gender stereotypes.
Schools are now required to devise processes to thoroughly verify background of all its teachers, non-teaching as well as contractual staff, and monitor them on a regular basis, as per the guidelines issued by the Union Government to ensure safety and security of children in schools, in view of the recent sexual assaults on students reported in schools across the country. “Head Teachers and Principals are tasked to supervise other teachers and ensure that no child is abused in any manner by the staff or even by older children”, the guidelines state.
School managements are advised to employ more female staffers and helpers from now on and also to ensure that there is atleast one female teacher in every school or class. Schools have also been told to adopt a policy of zero-tolerance towards teachers or staff who report to work in a drunken state. They have been asked to ensure that there are separate toilets available for girls and boys. The guidelines point out that secluded placed within the school premises have the possibility of anti-social activities which can prove to be highly risky for children, particularly girls.
State authorities are required to vigorously and constantly enforce traffic rules about color of school buses / other vehicles and the background of drivers and helpers engaged in transporting children. There should be additional verification by the police.
Besides, school managements have been told not to accept administering of corporal punishment to students in schools as normal and not to view it as an acceptable measure in disciplining students, as per the new directives issued by the HRD Ministry. The directives suggest detailed strategies that require the teacher to impart to students life skills which can help them deal with emotions like anger and frustration even in situations outside the school. Schools are directed to give a student an opportunity to explain when he or she is late to reach school or lacking in cleanliness or weak in academics.
In dealing with verbally confrontational students, the directives suggest that teachers try not losing their temper, raising their voice or using sarcasm. Teachers should try to actively listen and allow the student to calm down; call the student later when he / she is calm to debrief; and avoid involving other students. When the issue is serious or acute, such as unprovoked aggression, vandalizing, disturbing school routine, explain to parents the need for immediate consultation with child psychiatrist, to prevent harm to the student and other students.
The HRD Ministry’s guidelines stem from a comprehensive study on corporal punishment conducted by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in the last about a decade. The NCPCR, among other things, had suggested in its report to make it mandatory for school education boards to take suo motto cognizance of incidents of corporal punishment and make recognition and affiliation of an educational institution subject to creating a ‘corporal punishment free environment’ inorder to pave way for children to willingly go to school and truly enjoy the process of learning and growing up in a non-violent culture. The NCPCR report strongly suggested setting up cells in schools to monitor cases and define protocol for schools, districts and state authorities, besides a number of other measures for affirmative action in schools for positive engagement with children.
The NCPCR report recommended that school teacher should provide a written undertaking stating that they would not engage in any action that could be construed as amounting to physical punishment, mental harassment or discrimination. Another suggestion made by the NCPCR report is for schools to have annual social audit of physical punishment, harassment and discrimination, and the results of the audit should be made public before the start of every new academic session.
The HRD Ministry has directed state governments to maintain a proper student-teacher ratio as prescribed by the Right to Education (RTE) act, so that a classroom is not difficult for a teacher to manage. The school management committees formed for each institution under the RTE Act, has been asked to work towards achieving a safe and secure environment for children in schools.
(The writer is a freelance journalist)
