KOCHI: Additional Director-General of Police (ADGP) K. Padmakumar on Saturday exhorted principals, teachers and parents to guard children against pitfalls in cyber world. Presenting a paper on cyber security and Prevention Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the two-day CBSE Principals meet organised by the Confederation of Kerala Sahodaya Complexes, Mr Padmakumar warned that many things appearing in cyberspace were fake and hence children should be carefully initiated and guided in the cyber world rather than be left alone there.
“It is more dangerous to let them roam free in the cyber world than leaving them to wander on roads alone. They should not be allowed to sit in an isolated corner in the house before computers or be left alone with smart phones that have an internet connection. They should be warned against sharing passwords with others and sharing addresses and photos on the cyber space. Awareness programmes should be held at the school level for the benefit of students and parents. The Cyber world is a double-edged weapon and proper care should be taken while dealing with it,” Mr Padmakumar said.
He also said that students should be made aware of hacking, cyber terrorism and consequences of publishing obscene content on the net. He also made the Prinicpals aware of the details of the POCSO Act which came into existence in 2012 to prevent child abuse. He emphasized on reporting of cases to police and the special features of the judicial process. The others who presented papers included educationist Prof Monisha Priyam, director of Global Academy Forum in the US Rebecca J Dahl and former MG University Vice-Chancellor Dr Cyriac Thomas. The meet unanimously passed a resolution to take all steps to ensure the proper implementation of the MR Vaccine programme in all CBSE schools. Confederation president K Unnikrishnan and general secretary K.A. Francis moved the resolution.
