Hyderabad: Worried over schools being unsafe after numerous incidents coming to light in the past few days, members of Hyderabad School Parents' Association met the Commissioner of School Education on Monday and demanded steps be taken to prevent crimes against schoolchildren.
The association submitted a memorandum demanding the establishment of a permanent and sustainable monitoring mechanism in all schools. The parents also demanded that a security audit be conducted at all schools in the city and police verification be done for all staff members.
They also demanded that a mandatory Parent Teacher Association (PTA) must be set up in every school to empower parents to ensure rules and regulations are followed.
The gruesome murder of a 7-year-old boy studying Ryan International School in Haryana's Gurugram, a 5-year-old girl’s rape inside an east Delhi school and a girl being forced to stand in boys’ toilet as punishment in Hyderabad within a span of a few days has raised questions regarding the safety of students.
Speaking to CNN-News 18, Rama Krishna, father of the 11-year-old girl who was humiliated in the name of punishment, said he took up the issue because he does not want any other child to go through the same ordeal. “The government needs to form strict regulations for schools and hold them accountable for wrongdoings,” he said.
“The formation of a Parent Teacher Association will help usher transparency in the affairs of the schools and keep the parents fully informed and satisfied about the steps taken to ensure safety and security of their children. At present, the parents, who are the main stakeholders in a school, have no say at all in school functioning,” said Aravinda Jata, member of HSPA.
Another parent, Ashish Naredi, said, “Such incidents are happening more frequently as schools are more interested in making money than anything else. The safety, security and upbringing of the child is secondary to them. The training of teachers and the bond they share with students is all sacrificed at the altar of commercialization.”
The commissioner assured the parents that safety and security would be taken up as the main agenda in a meeting between the school managements and parents on September 15.
However, parents remain unsure. Ramanjeet Singh, a worried parent, said previous complaints have gone unheard. “There was an incident where parents were locked up inside the school for questioning the change in school bus timings,” he said.
“There are many instances when kids were traumatised by schools but no action was taken against the errant individuals. We have booked cases against schools for cheating and illegally suspending students yet the institutes continue with their arrogance,” he added.
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