Recognition of schools negligent towards students’ security to be cancelled

Bhopal: School Education Minister Kunwar Vijay Shah has warned school education institutes to be vigilant over security arrangements of students. Strict action like cancellation of recognition will be taken against educational institutions found to be negligent towards security of students. Shah was reviewing the measures being taken for security of students at the Mantralaya today. Officers of School Education, Tribal Welfare and Transport Department were present at the meeting.

The Minister said that presence of women attenders should be made mandatory in school buses. Decisions like cancellation of recognition would be taken if women attenders are not found in any school buses from October 1. School Education Department will write letters related to cancellation of recognition to the CBSE Board. It was decided at the meeting that Jan-Shikshaks will inspect schools in their areas. Block Resource Coordinators will conduct regular reviews of security arrangements of schools in their areas. Shah said that he would take information about this regularly from district education officers through video conferencing. Decision to get chain link fencing work done in girls’ hostels and schools of School Education Department was taken during the meeting.

Instructions were given at the meeting to write to the Health Department for a health worker who would make monthly visits to nearby schools for regular health examination of students. Special attention must be paid to check and ensure availability of fire extinguishers and repair of doors and windows of schools from security point of view. Principal Secretary School Education Smt. Dipti Gaud Mukherji gave information about the security measures being taken at present.

There are one lakh 60 thousand private and government schools of Class I to XII in the state in which there are nearly one crore 62 lakh students are studying. About 500 hostels of the School Education Department are operating in state.

Commissioner Public Instruction Neeraj Dubey and Commissioner Tribal Welfare Smt. Deepali Rastogi were also present at the meeting.-WTN