CBSE TO RELEASE UPDATED NORMS ON SAFETY OF STUDENTS

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has set up a special committee that would frame ‘comprehensive’ guidelines to ensure security of students on the school campuses.

The move comes amid rising concern over safety of students in schools following the murder of a seven-year-old student in Ryan International School in Gurugram recently.

CBSE deputy secretary, Jaiprakash Chaturvedi, in a letter dated September 28 to all schools affiliated to the board said new and updated guidelines are being framed in consultation with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.

“The detailed guidelines would come out soon and the schools will get adequate time to comply with these measures,” it read. Earlier too the CBSE had issued a host of instructions to its schools asking them to get psychometric evaluation of the teachers and others staff done by professional psychologists and submit an action-taken report.

In a circular dated September 12, the board had also asked its schools to get a safety audit of their staff and premises done by the local police.

The circular had said such verification and evaluation of nonteaching staff like bus drivers, conductors, peons and other support staff should be done with utmost care.

“This should be compiled and reported on the CBSE website within two months of receiving this circular,” the board had said and added that strict action would be initiated against the defaulters.

CBSE officials said the board felt the existing measures were not adequate to check crime against children on the school campuses.

The new guidelines, it said, would not only ensure proper safety but also make the schools more accountable.

“We welcome any guidelines that help us improve the safety of our students which remains a top priority for every academic institutions,” said Sushmita Kanungo, principal Maharishi Patanajali Vidya Mandir, Allahabad.