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CCTV cameras are the best option to ensure the safety of students, teachers and non-teaching staff in schools and premises. It will be mandatory for all private management schools to install sufficient number of CCTV cameras at strategic places in the schools and premises within a period of one month from the date of this government decision. Appropriate action will be taken against schools not complying with this provision. In this case, the way such as withholding the grant of the school or canceling the recognition of the school will also be adopted. In the schools of government and local self-government bodies where CCTV cameras have not been installed, such schools should take action regarding installation of cameras on priority. Under the District Annual (General) Plan (DPC) as per the government decision, it has been approved to reorganize the schemes related to the school education and sports department and reserve at least 5 percent of funds for the same. According to the said government decision, the priority order of the schemes for which this fund is allowed to be used has been determined. It also includes the component of infrastructure creation. Therefore, 5 percent of the reserved funds can be used for installing CCTV cameras under this component. It will be the responsibility of the School Management Committee to take such action as soon as possible. It is not enough to just install CCTV cameras in schools and premises, it is also necessary to check its footage at regular intervals. It will be the responsibility of the Headmaster in particular and the School Management Committee in general to check such footage and take action if any objectionable matter is found. There should be a control room in the school for such inspection at least three times a week by the principal. The footage should be checked under the supervision of the Principal. If any objectionable material is found in the footage, it will be the responsibility of the principal to contact the local police administration and take appropriate action. Care should also be taken in appointing non-teaching staff in the school and measures should also be taken to control the behavior of the working staff. In addition to regular employees, in case of outsourced or contractual appointments such as security guards, cleaners, helpers, school-bus drivers, etc., a strict background check of the concerned person must be done by the school management. For this, it will be necessary to obtain a character verification report through the local police system prior to appointment. After the appointment, all the detailed information of the concerned person along with his photograph should be given to the local police system. While appointing non-teaching staff in schools through external sources or on contract basis, preference should be given to female staff for students up to six years of age. As part of the concrete measures to be taken regarding the safety of school students, orders have been issued as per the government circular to install complaint boxes in schools of all media and all managements in the state. In this regard, the responsibility of the school management / zonal system has been determined. According to the said circular, detailed instructions have been given regarding the opening of the complaint box and the action to be taken on the complaint received therein. However, it is equally important to check whether or not all schools are using these complaint boxes effectively. It is mandatory for schools of all mediums and all managements to install complaint boxes and follow the provisions of the circular in this regard. The school principal will be held personally responsible for this. If found guilty, disciplinary action will be taken against the principal. Sakhi Savitri Committee has been formed at the levels of School, Centre, Taluka/City Resource Center as per Government circular. According to the said circular, the tasks to be performed by this committee have been mentioned in detail. The committees constituted at every level in the state must carry out the tasks assigned to them within the prescribed period. It is important to review this especially in the context of student safety. Improper forms of safety of school students especially regarding sexual harassment are observed from time to time. Society’s attitude towards such incidents is sensitive and such incidents have adverse effects on students, their families and the entire society. Such inappropriate forms must be eradicated. Just as measures have been taken to implement the provisions of the POSH Act 2013 in response to complaints of sexual harassment of women in the workplace, similar measures need to be taken in the case of school students. For this, a student safety committee should be formed at the school level from the level of the education officer within a week. Such a committee will be able to discuss with the students from time to time and understand their problems. State Level Student Safety Review Committee- To review the above mentioned measures at the state level, approval is given to constitute a State Level Student Safety Review Committee as follows:- Chairman-Commissioner (Education), State of Maharashtra Pune, Member-State Project Director, Maharashtra Council of Primary Education, Mumbai, Member-Director, State Council of Educational Research and Training, Maharashtra, Pune, Member-Director of Education (Primary), Member-Director of Education (Secondary & Higher Secondary), Member -Two women officers in Group-A working under School Education Department nominated by Commissioner (Education), Office of Member Secretary-Joint Director (Administration), Commissioner (Education). It is necessary to review the measures mentioned by the said committee at regular intervals. The Group Education Officer and Education Officer (Primary / Secondary) should review these measures once in a month and once in two months respectively. Answers of students and parents should be recorded as per requirement for this. A report in this regard should be submitted to the state level student safety review committee. The state level student safety review committee should review the implementation of the above measures according to the education department once in three months and submit a report on it to the government from time to time. The Commissioner (Education), Maharashtra State, Pune will be responsible for this. The concerned school management / institution / principal / teacher / non-teaching staff should report the matter to the concerned education authority within twenty-four hours after it is revealed that an inappropriate incident has happened with a student in the school. If it is found that any attempt is made to cover up such untoward incident, the concerned person/institution will be liable to severe punishment.
