Commission asks U'khand govt to ensure safety of school kids

In the backdrop of the gruesome murder of a seven-year-old student at a school in Gurgaon, the Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights today asked the state government to lay down new stricter rules and ensure effective implementation of the existing ones.
In a letter to Chief Secretary S Ramaswamy, UCPCR Chairman Yogendra Khanduri laid down seven guidelines, including constitution of parents-teachers association and its meeting every month, to improve security of children at schools.
Other guidelines included monitoring of the entire premises of schools by CCTV cameras, separate toilets for small and growing up children as well as school employees, periodic mental health check-ups of the staff, mandatory police verification of teachers and other employees,preparation of safety report cards by all schools and appointment of a counsellor for children in every school.

The commission also recommended that a committee be set up to assess steps taken by schools for the safety of children and stern action be taken against those which do not follow these guidelines.
The UCPCR also suggested measures to improve safety of children in schools in the remote hill areas like immediate reconstruction of dilapidated school buildings, construction of proper roads in hilly areas so that children could reach their schools from their homes and back without risking their lives.
The commission chairman also recommended effective steps to save children from wild animals.