'JK child rights panel asks schools to ensure safety of security of children'

Jammu and Kashmir's women and child rights panel has asked the state's Education Department to ensure safety and security of children during their stay in the school besides their to-and-fro travel from home.

In a comprehensive advisory to all schools, the J&K Commission for the Protection of Women and Child Rights (JKSCWCR) has also asked schools to keep a tab on the weight of children's school bags, besides ensuring a healthy and hygienic environment in the school.

The advisory also asked schools to equip them with various facilities and equipment to meet any emergent medical need.

The advisory was issued by the Commission's chairperson Vasundhara Pathak Masoodi on Saturday, said an official spokesperson.

No unauthorised person should be allowed to enter the school premises (including the ground) and any movement of an unauthorised or a suspicious person should be reported without fail," the spokesman said.

On transportation of children in school vehicles, the Commission's advisory strongly recommended for installation of GPS and CCTV in vehicles, mandatory police verification of drivers and assisting staff of the school vehicles, he said.

The spokesperson said the advisory recommended that the social interaction of children with driver or other staff of the school vehicles should be restricted to bare minimum and drivers or other staff of the vehicle should not be allowed to enter the main building of the school.

He said the advisory also recommended that every educational institution should have health clinic with provision for medicos, para-medics, first-aid facilities, medicines and basic medical equipment, besides sanitary napkins, purified drinking water, fire extinguishers, parking space, CCTV, safe heating arrangements and other facilities.

Stressing on the need to keep the weight of school children bags to bare minimum, the advisory also prescribed a limit on their weight for students of different classes, said the spokesperson, adding the bags should not weigh more than 1.5 kg for class 1 and 2 children, two to three kg for class 3 to 5 students, four kg for class 6 and 7, 4.5 kgs for class 8 and 9 and five kg for class 10, the spokesman said.

The spokesperson said the advisory recommended that the students should not be asked to carry extra material or additional books to school for whatsoever purpose.

The advisory also warned of the revocation of the recognition of private schools found violating the prescribed limits of school bag weight, the spokesman said.