Bengaluru: Beware! Send an inappropriate SMS or a videos to students or women, and you could be notified as a sexual offender!
This and a host of new guidelines have been laid out by the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) on Thursday. Sparked by the shocking rape of a six year old in a city school, it sets to rest weeks of heated debate on whether the responsibility for the safety and security of school-going children lie with school authorities or not, by putting the onus on protecting schoolchildren from sexual assault jointly on school management, parents and police.
The new guidelines state that every school should have a student safety committee which sees the parents' involved in the day to day management of the school, with the School Vigilance Committee keeping an eye on all staff members to ensure they do not prey on children.
Among other markers such as sharing background checks on all staff with local police, and collaring eve-teasers, the new guidelines make the installation of CCTV compulsory in all schools. Private schools have all announced that they will implement the new guidelines with immediate effect.
