180 Bengaluru schools booked for flouting safety guidelines

Cracking the whip, the Karnataka government has booked 180 schools across the capital for not complying with safety guidelines.

"We have booked cases against 180 schools in the city since Nov 3 for not complying with the safety guidelines police issued on the directive of the Karnataka High Court," Home Minister K.J. George told reporters here Monday.

The 10-poing guidelines were framed following a spate of alleged sexual assaults on minor girls in a few private schools across the city since July, which led to outrage by parents, protests by socio-political organisations and civic activists.

The guidelines have made mandatory installing closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in all private and state-run schools with a control room to monitor activities of students, faculty, staff and outsiders in and around their premises.

"We are in the process of setting up 10 fast track courts across the state for ensuring speedy trial of crimes against minor girls and women and stringent punishment to culprits committing such heinous acts," George said.

The city police will soon file charge sheets against the 180 schools for failing to implement the safety norms, as the high court lifted curbs on taking action against defaulting schools.

The state government has also decided to launch an extensive campaign to generate awareness against sexual abuse of minor girls and women in the state and checking the menace.

The set of guidelines has made it compulsory for schools to do background checks on teachers and staff members before hiring them, profile male staffers, including security persons and drivers of buses deployed to ferry students and generate awareness among girls on their safety and security.

Though the safety guidelines were issued in July after a six-year-old girl student was allegedly raped by her coaching instructor in her school premises for compliance by Aug 31, the deadline was extended twice till Oct 31 after many schools sought time to implement them.

"We will complete investigations and file charge sheet against the defaulting schools after we get the report of a high-level committee set by the state education department on ensuring safety and security of students in all schools," city Police Commissioner M.N. Reddi told reporters later.