Panel to bring CBSE/ICSE schools under its purview

Considering the dismal increase in incidents of child rights violations in CBSE/ICSE schools in the state, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has decided to take up initiatives

KOLLAM: Considering the dismal increase in incidents of child rights violations in CBSE/ICSE schools in the state, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has decided to take up initiatives that could bring such schools under the purview of child rights.

The commission will soon submit a proposal in this regard to the government. “There is a spike in child rights violations being reported from CBSE/ICSE schools in the state. The commission is of the view that most of the schools were institution-centric and not child-centric ones,” said C J Antony, member, Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Terming the death of a 15-year-old girl, after she jumped off the third floor of a school building on Friday, as serious, Antony said there was a need to bring such schools under the purview of child rights.
“The norms and standards set by most of the schools violate the rights of children. The authorities of those schools think they are beyond the purview of the state system. In the Kollam incident, we have got reports that the District Child Protection Unit officials were denied entry to the school, citing it was an ICSE school,” Antony said.

Government intervention is needed to bring in transparency in the functioning of such schools. They have to be brought under the purview of the system, he said. Since emotional stress among teachers and students is becoming a problem, there should be programmes to address it, he said. “When compared with the teachers of public schools, those in CBSE/ICSE schools are ignorant about child rights, including the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. In the present case,  there was a grave delinquency on the part of the teachers. Had they addressed the issue in a sensible manner, the girl wouldn’t have committed such an act,” said Antony.

Meanwhile,  the commission has decided to launch a mass campaign during the observance of Child Rights Convention Week to spread the message of ensuring child rights. It will be observed from November 14-21.

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