Find The Will And Find A Way

With all participants agreeing that a lot needs to be done to safeguard children at schools, the first question to consider was why we act only after a major incident.

While Nitin Gopalani, a lawyer and father of an 8-year-old girl, said parents had a laid-back approach towards children's safety because of typical "Indian mentality", Vibhor Khatwar, an IT expert and head of a company that specializes in safety surveillance equipment, said parents sometimes got so busy in their day-to-day activities that they ignored children's safety.

Bhaskar Zode, senior education extension officer, added, "The government has issued GRs and guidelines for safety of children at schools. If the schools follow these norms, most of the problems can be resolved. A majority of the security concerns are in metro cities because children have to travel long distances." However, Madhusudan Mude, general secretary of Headmasters Association (Nagpur district), referred to rape of a minor in Butibori and said that there were a lot of security issues in rural areas too.

Echoing Mude's observation, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Shweta Khedekar and Radhika Mehra, chairperson of Nagpur Sahodaya Schools Complex, stressed the need to be consistent in our efforts to improve security at schools. "Schools should regularly review their security. Today's children are changing rapidly and we have to keep up with them," Mehra said. Khedekar said that teachers as well as parents should educate children about changing social scenario. "We have to be imaginative and think about what can happen," she added.

Santosh Jog, president of School Bus Owners Association, said that his organization had installed GPS systems in all the school buses. He added that some problems happened because of time pressure but things had improved a lot.

Zafar Khan, president of Urdu Schools Association and president of Principals Charitable Trust, said the government did not provide money to aided school for security. "We cannot appoint non-teaching staff and we cannot accept money from parents. How can aided schools manage security," he asked. He further said the school management must take charge of the security.

Most of the panellists agreed that the present security concerns were alarming. Gopalani said when his daughter was at school, he was worried about her safety. "Once children are inside the school, we do not have control over what happens there. Currently, outsiders are coming at my daughter's school because of some ongoing construction work. I'm always concerned about my daughter," he added. Mehra said repair works were undertaken after school hours and construction sites were cordoned off.

Agreeing with Gopalani, Khedekar said that schools should do a detailed background check of labourers. "If outsiders are coming to school frequently, the school will not be safe. The school must have a proper system to monitor these people," she said.

Khatwar added everyone must try to find solutions to these tough questions because a school was children's second home. "We cannot control everything but strong rules and regulation can help a lot. Technology can be the most trusted friend in our quest for safety," he said.

Zode said, "Last year, installation of CCTV cameras on school premises was made mandatory. Now, schools can immediately probe any unusual activity." When asked why the aided schools had not received money to purchase CCTV cameras, Zode said department had applied for the money but was yet to get a reply.

Gopalani, Mehra as well as Khatwar felt that merely installing CCTV cameras on school premises could not be the master key to all the security issues. Referring to an incident in a rural government school, Gopalani said a girl who was eating her lunch was attacked by a pig as the school lacked compound wall. Khatwar also pointed to an year-old case in which an engineering student died after accidentally falling from fourth floor of a Hingna college that did not have a parapet.

"Schools can plant fence of thorny bushes. This will not only deter outsiders but also prevent students from scaling the walls," Mehra said. She added parents should participate in security initiatives of the schools and provide constructive suggestions. It would help us see things from their perspective, she said.

The panellists expressed concern over the widening communication gap between teachers, children and parents. Referring to a case in which a minor was abused by a school bus attendant over a period of five to six months, Khedekar said neither the victim's parents nor her teacher noticed changes in her behaviour. The parents noticed something was wrong only when the child constantly fell ill and made excuses for not attending the school. When the matter was reported to the school, the authorities merely warned the attendant instead of approaching the police, Khedekar added.

"We as a society are not safety conscious. Hardly any schools invite police to conduct seminars on security issues," the DCP said. She added that it was high time we educated our boys rather than just disciplining our girls. Agreeing with her, Mehra said dependence on technology had stunted our social capabilities and teachers as well as parents were unaware about what's happening in children's lives.

Khatwar said, "It is the responsibility of parents to visit schools and engage with children. Schools should also create an environment where children can come forth with their issues."

Suggesting some ways to overcome financial constraints faced by aided school, Khan said school administration could win if it had the will to find a way. "We have assigned teaching staff and senior students with monitoring responsibilities during their free hours. We also insist all parents to meet their representatives ahead of a parent-teacher meet. Students, teachers and parents should have a constant dialogue and identify sensitive issues," he said.

While Khatwar insisted on exploiting technology for solving the pressing security issues at schools, many panellists felt technology was a double-edged sword. Mehra and Khedekar stated we must inculcate a sense of self-governance among children. It was important that our children were aware about what was happening around them, they said. If a girl felt threatened, she could shout to raise an alarm. It was also a way to fight back, Khedekar said.

All panellists felt teachers as well as parents should actively engage with children, monitor their behaviour and ask them if they found something unusual. Every schools should have a full-time panel to look into evolving security issues, they said.

Khedekar said the city police had begun the process of safety audit at schools and soon new guidelines would be issued to all schools. Schools would have to do a psychometric test as well as a thorough background check of its staff, she added. Mehra, Gopalani and Khatwar said that there could be no compromise when it came to safety infrastructure of schools. "Children as well as teachers should be made aware of security issues. People entering schools should be monitored. Action should be taken against illegal hawkers outside schools," Mehra said.

Zode as well as Mude stressed the need to reach out to the society to find solutions to these issues. "Parents feel that once their children go to schools, it is the responsibility of schools to look after them," he said. Zode said government could not provide money for everything. School administration, parents as well as teachers should work together for safety of children, he added.

Jog said that schools should appoint monitors in the vans. "The security guards at schools have been briefed about the vans and divers. Only authorized drivers can enter schools. We need more such measures," he said. Khan said schools should focus on security measures in monthly parents-teacher meetings. Government has made complaint boxes mandatory at all schools. The box should be opened only in the presence of the parent teacher committee. Khedekar said these complaints should be immediately reported to the police.

Gopalani felt parents should make their kids outspoken. Children should be able to share anything with parents. Parents should talk to children at least for an hour everyday, he added.