Mumbai: In the wake of the Badlapur school incident, concerns about school safety have arisen in Mumbai. The BMC currently faces a shortage of education inspectors, with approximately 100 of the 132 positions vacant. These inspectors are responsible for auditing safety, educational quality, and other essential aspects of school operations.
K.P. Naik, president of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Shikshan Sena, has highlighted that civic guidelines mandate one inspector for every 250 schools, which include civic-run, aided, and private institutions.
The current vacancies have led to an undue burden on principals of civic-run schools, who are now managing additional inspection responsibilities alongside their regular duties. He has requested Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr. Amit Saini to expedite the process of filling these critical posts.
The civic guidelines specify that education inspector positions are to be filled equally through direct recruitment and departmental promotions from within the BMC's school education department. Efforts are underway to address these vacancies, but the process remains ongoing.
In response to the Badlapur incident, the state government has introduced several measures to enhance school safety. These include establishing a state-level safety review committee, installing CCTV systems in schools, verifying character certificates for non-teaching staff, appointing female staff for children under six, and setting up complaint boxes and internal grievance committees.
In 2019, the BMC launched a project to install CCTV cameras in its schools. However, the initiative encountered delays due to several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, high costs, and funding challenges. Over the past five years, these issues have stalled progress. Last year, the civic authorities decided to use more affordable cameras for school premises. With administrative approval, the tender process for this revised plan began in February.
Following the Badalapur incident, the process was expedited, resulting in a work order for the installation of CCTVs across 100 schools in the first phase. Currently, over 3,55,000 students are enrolled in 1,147 BMC schools, and approximately 6,000 cameras will need to be installed across these buildings, with an estimated cost of Rs. 24.30 crore.
In a related development, state education minister Deepak Kesarkar announced the suspension of Education Officers Balasaheb Rakshe from Thane district and Rajesh Kankal from Mumbai on August 23. While Rakshe's suspension was officially enacted, no formal order has been issued regarding Kankal.
A civic official stated, "The administration has assured the education minister that the CCTVs will be installed immediately in schools for which they have started process of installation," Additional Municipal Commissioner Amit Saini was unavailable for comment.
