Ryan International case: Government school students particularly vulnerable to abuse; legislation need of the hour

The case of an eight-year-old boy being murdered in Ryan International School in Gurgaon has received a lot of media attention. However, there could be several incidents of abuse in schools that do not come under the glare of the media. These cases, too, are important. While the guidelines issued by the CBSE would only apply to schools affiliated to it, similar guidelines need to be put in place for all schools, including those run by the government. These should be in the form of a legislation, with provisions for penalties and time-bound action. Children from government schools and municipal schools are more vulnerable as they do not know who to approach if an incident of abuse takes place. Parents from the economically weaker sections also find it difficult to make their voice heard. Especially in villages, the police can be easily managed by the powerful. So, it is all the more important that stringent measures are taken for the security of such children. There are several guidelines, policies and even Supreme Court judgments about the safety of children in schools. But who will implement them, especially in a situation where the implementing authority is absent? Even if an attempt is made to implement the guidelines, the police may not cooperate with the complainants. It is seen that in most of the cases, the police does not lodge a complaint. As a result of this, people are apprehensive about going to the police station. [caption id=“attachment_4046431” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. cbse.nic.in[/caption] Installing CCTV cameras, as mentioned in the guidelines, is of no use by itself. CCTV cameras can only help to gather evidence after the crime has been committed, but cannot prevent the crime in the first place. There needs to be a monitoring system for the cameras so that crimes can be prevented. Schools can even hire monitoring agencies for this purpose. But, there is no real provision for any penalty if these policies are not followed. This can be done in cases like the one at Ryan International School. If one or two schools are asked to pay a large amount as a fine, then other institutions will be more likely to follow the rules properly. In the present situation, there is no fear of the law. Even if an FIR is lodged, for how many years will parents fight the case? The entire process, involving the police investigation, the trial court level and appeals in higher courts can even take twenty years. Further, there is a possibility of the child being victimised by the school if the parents fight a legal battle. I do not think that the provision of disaffiliating schools for lapses will act as a deterrent. If the authorities try to disaffiliate the school, such a move will be opposed by parents as the education of their children will be affected. Rather than disaffiliating schools, imposing penalties will act as more effective deterrents. Further, whenever the authorities come up with a new policies, they must come up with a checklist which needs to be followed by all schools, with respect to infrastructure and safety measures. These could include the number of toilets which need to be there, structural audit, fire audit, etc. Often, schools principals themselves do not have proper knowledge about these stipulations. The government should ask NGOs to keep a check on whether the checklist is followed. Such measures can help make schools more accountable and safe. The author is president, Forum for Fairness in Education As told to Neerad Pandharipande