Indian schools denying responsibility of student's safetyTop Stories

July 23, 2014 15:38
Indian schools denying responsibility of student's safety},{Indian schools denying responsibility of student's safety

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The heinous rape incident of a class one student in an elite Bangalore school on July 2 not only appalled the nation, but also bought the safety of children in school at the forefront.

Worried parents are terrorized over the safety of their school-going children since sexual assault in school premises seem to be recurring. Worse, the schools, instead of bucking up safety measures, are trying to wash their hands out of the matter by making parents sign up a form that says that schools and their staff are not responsible for the safety of their students. Galling!

Many top schools across the country have approached the parents asking then to sign the forms that says that “when their child participates in events organized by the school - including field trips, excursions and camps - the staff or teachers of the school can't be held responsible for "damage to loss of property, sickness or injury from 'whatever source' legal entanglements, loss of life or money..."

Some schools have also threatened to expel students whose parents have approached the media.

How sad is that? The society has placed the burden of protection on the frail shoulders of the little children as adult has either the courage or the integrity to protect them.

According to The Telegraph, "Some of the most common forms of abuse in India include touching, kissing and fondling with sexual intent, exposing one’s genitals to children or coaxing children to expose theirs, persuading them to have sex and exposing children to pornographic material."

Even so, most schools are not willing to do the bare minimum and the state is not forcing them to do so.

Nina Nayak, the chairman of Karnataka Commission for the Protection of Child Rights says, "Government schools have a School Development Monitoring Committee as per the Karnataka School Education Act, but it does not look into these issues. There should be counsellors and a complaint box for children. A background check for all employees is a must. There's so much trust children have in adults, especially if they're teachers."

The irony here is that schools are immune from the 1994 Supreme Court judgment which says that all workplaces should have a sexual harassment committee.

One such policy ought to extend to all schools since it is a workplace too. As both the Trio and Vibgyor cases reveal, abuse is equally common in our A-list private schools and government schools, although the A-listers are often more zealous over saving their reputation.

But as Anuja Gupta, who runs Rahi, an NGO dedicated to fighting child abuse, says, “Punishment is only a small part. Awareness of the issue and accepting that child abuse is a problem and can happen anywhere are of prime importance. Rahi has offered to hold awareness workshops in Delhi, but was turned away in most cases.

What's more appalling that the government has been shockingly lax and the schools, callous and self-serving. Instead of trying to sweep such matters under the table, the schools and the government must do their bit to punish the predators.

Remember, each time a predator goes unpunished, the victim is not just that one child but the countless others whom he shall abuse with impunity.

It's not just for the parents, but the government and institutions to step up and demand justice, instead of cowering in silence out of some misguided notion of shame, to make the world a safer haven for our future kids.

AW: Suchorita Choudhury

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