The Ministry of Education has issued a directive to all states and Union Territories to implement the ‘School Safety and Security Guidelines 2021’ to enhance protection of children in educational institutions. This move follows the Supreme Court’s directives in Writ Petitions (Criminal) No. 136 of 2017 and (Civil) No. 874 of 2017.
The guidelines, in line with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, are designed to establish clear accountability for school management in public, government-aided and private schools. Key aspects include preventive education, reporting procedures, legal provisions, support services and creating a safe environment conducive to learning.
The Ministry has requested states and Union Territories to provide updates on the status of notification of these guidelines within their jurisdictions. The guidelines, which were initially circulated on October 1, 2021, and are advisory in nature, offer flexibility to states to tailor them to local needs. They highlight a “zero tolerance policy” towards child safety negligence.
The purpose of these guidelines is to create an understanding among all stakeholders including students and parents on the need to co-create a safe and secure school environment for the holistic development of children and to sensitize the different stakeholders about the laws, policies, procedures and guidelines already available on different aspects of safety and security i.e. physical, socio-emotional, cognitive and specific to natural disasters as well.
The guidelines were developed to empower different stakeholders and enable clarity on their role in the implementation of these guidelines.
This involves placing the responsibility for keeping children safe and secure in schools (including while children are being transported to and from school or returning home on school transport) on the School Management and Headmasters and Teachers in Private/Non-Aided Schools, and the Principal/Head in charge of the School, Teachers and the educational administration in the case of Government/Government Aided Schools.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.