The rape of a second standard school girl in Delhi last week has been followed by a directive by the Government of Delhi. It mandates immediate reporting of any untoward (and violence, molestation, protest type) incidents to the respective officials for quick action, especially before they reach the media. Moreover, so that there is no ‘embarrassment’ to the education departments.
The rape of a minor has sparked the much-needed debate on the security and safety of school children in the national capital. The incident has identified the alleged rapist who was the electrician on the NDMC school campus.
A statement issued by the Delhi Government (Directorate of Education, DoE) for school principals said the following:
“In order to ensure better monitoring of any untoward incident and take preventive measures at higher administrative levels, all heads of schools are directed to report immediately any untoward incident like violence, accident, dharna, quarrel, fire, protest, demonstration, theft, stampede, molestation, serious injury, suicide attempt or death to senior education department official whosoever is available at the moment.”
The AAP government also weighed in by adding that if a detailed account is not possible to deliver to the higher authorities owing to the circumstances, a telephonic report is imperative to the directive’s motive. This should be handled by the school principal. The brief reporting should be followed by a detailed account on the same day.
“In certain cases, the reports of such incidents are received at the headquarters through media or other sources instead of the head of school due to which appropriate action cannot be taken in time and increases the threat to safety and security of students and also causes otherwise avoidable embarrassment to the department.
Therefore, all such occurrences must be brought to the notice of senior officers without any delay.”
The directive contains a fair warning to strictly comply with the protocol of the directive: “Non-compliance of the directive will be viewed seriously and action deemed fit will be initiated against the erring head of the school.”
The sparking debate was followed by the Delhi Commission For Women (DCW) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued notices to Delhi Government. These notices demanded the Delhi Police to reveal the details of the case.
The New Delhi Municipal Council has been carrying on the disciplinary action on the school, including suspending four of its officials, including the principal. This incident is after the Delhi Government had issued fresh safety protocols for schools, including a special focus on the children traveling via private vans.
These guidelines were put in place following the murder of a 7-year-old boy in Gurgaon and the rape of a 5-year-old girl in Shahdara.