National Human Rights Commission today sought reports from Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan on students being allegedly forced to travel in unreserved train coaches.
According to an official statement released today, the commission has issued notices, returnable within a week, to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in this regard.
The notices were issued on a complaint alleging that several Central School students, including girls between 10 to 18 years of age from across the country, faced lot of inconvenience involving their safety when they were collected by Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan in New Delhi and were packed of like cattle in sleeper coaches without reservation from New Delhi to Ahmedabad to participate in a sports event to be held from the October 13 to 18 October.
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"The teachers also faced the same plight. For return journey also, their reservations were not confirmed. The concerned authorities did not evoke any response when aggrieved parents approached them," the statement said.
Issuing the notice, Justice D Murugesan, Member, NHRC has observed that the facts of the case are disturbing. Such a sport event at the national level could have been organised well in advance with proper arrangements for travel and other facilities to the students and teachers. The arrangements for safe return journey could also have been planned accordingly.
In the given set of facts it is clear that no such arrangements were made which made the students to travel 16 - 17 hours in train without reservation.
"The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan authorities have not taken appropriate steps keeping in view the best interests of the children. The participating students are undergoing mental agony due to lack of sensitivity on the part of authorities concerned.
"The human rights of not only the students but also of the escorting teachers appear to have been violated in the matter," the statement said.
