A day after a class VIII student of a Vanasthalipuram school was
allegedly molested by a teacher, it appears that many city schools have
failed to ensure strict compliance of the mandatory Protection of Child
from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, 2012. The Central Board of Secondary
Education (CBSE) has issued fresh guidelines to curb incidents of sexual
abuse in schools, but experts say that these directives exist merely on
paper.
The CBSE circular says that every school needs to have in-house induction sessions for teachers on gender sensitisation, counselling facility for students, school complaint committees, complaint/suggestion box and CCTV cameras. However, rising number of incidents in the city clearly shows that schools have not enforced these guidelines.
"There are 122 CBSE affiliated schools and 1,800 state board schools in Hyderabad. Most schools lack financial aid to set up infrastructure like CCTV cameras to curb sexual abuse on campus," said Srinivas Reddy, president of Telangana Rashtra School Managements Association.
The CBSE circular says that every school needs to have in-house induction sessions for teachers on gender sensitisation, counselling facility for students, school complaint committees, complaint/suggestion box and CCTV cameras. However, rising number of incidents in the city clearly shows that schools have not enforced these guidelines.
"There are 122 CBSE affiliated schools and 1,800 state board schools in Hyderabad. Most schools lack financial aid to set up infrastructure like CCTV cameras to curb sexual abuse on campus," said Srinivas Reddy, president of Telangana Rashtra School Managements Association.
"Taking measures is clearly not enough since school managements need to
keep vigil on how effective these steps are to keep female students
safe," Reddy added, raising fears that the day may not be far when male
teachers won't be recruited at all due to rising sexual abuse cases in
schools.
According to data from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), about 1,500 cases were reported over the past one year, out of which 90 were serious offences. SCPCR officials said that it is mostly physical education and physics teachers who have been charged for sexual abuse. "Sexual abuse complaints are mostly received from CBSE schools," an SCPCR official said.
To foster gender equality, CBSE has instructed schools to conduct programmes for empowerment of girls. "Discrimination is the root cause for any kind of abuse. Schools need to go beyond counselling sessions to identify the problems students face," said G Dakshinamurthy, convenor of Forum for Protection of Values in Educational Field. "Many male teachers drag their household frustration to schools. Because of this, several girl students become victims to sexual abuse," he added.
Although the Act prescribes graver punishment for sexual offences committed on children, parents doubt whether any action is actually taken by schools. "Committees are formed but no school says what would be the punishment if the accused is found guilty," a parent rued.
According to data from the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR), about 1,500 cases were reported over the past one year, out of which 90 were serious offences. SCPCR officials said that it is mostly physical education and physics teachers who have been charged for sexual abuse. "Sexual abuse complaints are mostly received from CBSE schools," an SCPCR official said.
To foster gender equality, CBSE has instructed schools to conduct programmes for empowerment of girls. "Discrimination is the root cause for any kind of abuse. Schools need to go beyond counselling sessions to identify the problems students face," said G Dakshinamurthy, convenor of Forum for Protection of Values in Educational Field. "Many male teachers drag their household frustration to schools. Because of this, several girl students become victims to sexual abuse," he added.
Although the Act prescribes graver punishment for sexual offences committed on children, parents doubt whether any action is actually taken by schools. "Committees are formed but no school says what would be the punishment if the accused is found guilty," a parent rued.