NEW DELHI: Standalone and private hostels for students will soon have to register themselves with the state government, mandatorily provide minimum standards of facilities, maintain a prescribed number of staffers and fix accountability in case of mishaps.
All these are part of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights’ (NCPCR) guidelines — the first such instance — on operation of hostels, mainly catering to outstation school students aged 6 to 18, and coaching centres in the country.
Officials in the Union Women and Child Development Ministry said that the government decided to lay down the norms for private hostels following a series of shocking cases of sexual abuse at shelter homes — such as the Muzaffarpur shelter horror — last year.
The norms, commissioned by the Union WCD Ministry, will apply on all charitable as well as commercial centres. The rules are likely to be notified after the ongoing general elections are over.
At present, there is no data on such hostels as no such mapping has ever been done. “The adoption of the guidelines by the states means that the hostels will function more responsibly as there will be rules they are supposed to abide by,” said NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo.
Even though there are rules and regulations in place for childcare institutions, several cases of abuse were reported, a senior WCD official said.
Registration can be immediately withdrawn in case of any violation of POCSO Act or JJ Act or any other child-related law or violation of measures for safety and security