In the wake ofa series of incidents of schoolchildren being subjected to harassment and violence, various schools have begun outsourcing verification of backgrounds of applicants for teaching and non-teaching posts to expert agencies.
Many schools are also conducting background check of current employees afresh.
"Never did we think about having police verification. We used to just check applicants' eligibility and recruit the person. By outsourcing the job of verification, we can be mentally relieved, though nobody can predict human behavior. But, certain precautions should be taken certainly," said Rita Kaul, the director of a chain of private schools.
Kaul said she too had undergone the verification process.
She said that her institution made over 2,000 recruitments every year and outsourcing the job to expert agencies was a right option.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued new security guidelines two months ago putting the onus on schools for the safety of students on their premises, failing which they would face derecognition.
The guidelines included conducting safety audits, installation of CCTV cameras, police verification, psychometric evaluation, constitution of parent-teacher- students committees to address safety needs of students.
The founder of AuthBridge, a company that is into background verification, Ajay Trehan, said, "Our children spend their maximum time away from and unsupervised by parents in their schools; and school owners in return must take all steps necessary to ensure safe and trustworthy environment for their students.
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