Gurgaon: schools debate child protection policy

Schools across the city are mooting the introduction of a child protection policy to safeguard students, following the alleged molestation case of a student in a city school.

Schools across the city are mooting the introduction of a child protection policy to safeguard students, following the alleged molestation case of a student in a city school.

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Suncity World School and The Heritage School have already formulated policies and will be releasing them as public documents for parents as well as students shortly.

“I worked on developing the policy factoring in measures to be taken by teachers, parents and school staff. The document will also contain anti-bullying norms. There are various schools abroad which have such rules,” said Kaye Jacob, associate director, The Heritage School.

The Suncity School management also confirmed that various measures are being taken to increase safety within the school. “We are releasing a child protection policy as soon as we get legal advice on its aptness. We are plan to rope in two psychologists for conducting a psychological evaluation of our Class 4 employees,” said an official.

Another group of educationists believe that safety is an integral part of school norms and does not need to be spelt out in a separate policy. “Schools take the responsibility of keeping students safe the moment they take them in. There is no need to highlight the obvious in terms of a policy,” said Surbhi Talwar, counsellor, Delhi Public School, Sector 45.