Mumbai: Activist Calls For Action Against Schools Not Following New Safety Guidelines

Mumbai: The order stating a checklist for schools by the administration was issued on September 24, and will be mandatory for schools to be recognised by the state, for new classes, additional divisions, NoCs to start schools of all boards, to be approved for state grants, changes in teaching mediums, etc.

The mandate has generated reactions from schools and activists. The Free Press Journal reached out to several schools and they claimed to have all the facilities in place.

Ritu Dubey, principal of Rajhans Vidyalaya, Andheri, said, “Our school has everything in place. Our school campus is big with different sections for different boards and many workers also reside at the campus so it is important for us to be more vigilant.”

According to Angela Almeida, principal of Tilak Global School, Ghansoli, her school has always been vigilant. “We repair CCTV cameras immediately. We also have regular meetings where parents are involved,” she said.

Similarly, Beena Menon, principal of BPM High School, Khar (West), claimed that her school has all facilities in place. She further suggested “regular follow ups, and links to the completed tasks” for schools that don’t have these facilities.

Dubey said there should be set timelines for schools that don’t follow these criteria yet. “Government schools mostly follow all the guidelines but it’s not the same with private schools. The schools that don’t have these facilities in place should set up strict timelines for fixing up the process and they should be adhered to,” she said.

“We cannot afford to forget about following up on these timelines. As leaders of schools, why can’t we help the staff to be prepared before-hand? Doing it after the incident is only a kneejerk response,” she added.

Nitin Dalvi, activist and president of Maharashtra Parents, Teachers and Students Association, said that orders like this one are always issued but nothing happens. “These guidelines always get out but nothing happens in the end, everything cools down and not all schools follow it,” he said.

To substantiate this claim he stated that the mandate to install CCTV cameras in schools came in 2016 but not all schools implemented it. He said the situation would improve only if “strict action is taken against schools that don’t follow these guidelines”.

The mandate requires schools to install CCTV cameras, a complaint box facility that should be opened every week, character certificates for every staff member, female helpers to assist students in washrooms, setting up of ‘Sakhi Savitri Committee’ that should have meetings once a month and so on. The order also asks the schools to ensure that the school has its own transport service, GPS tracker and panic button. They are also directed to appoint female assistants on buses.

MANDATE

CCTV cameras

Complaint box facility, to be opened every week

Character certificates for every staff member

Female helpers to assist students in washrooms

Setting up of ‘Sakhi Savitri Committee’ that would meet once a month.

The order also asks schools to ensure that they have their own transport service, GPS tracker and panic button.