Parents send their children to school with a hope to enlighten them and ensure a secure future. They happily bade goodbye to them each morning to spend a successful day at school. But what happens when their innocent dreams are thwarted? When a school, conventionally thought of as a safe abode, turns into a barbaric and hostile site?
Image: AFP
Following a three-year-old nursery student’s horrific sexual assault by school staff, the molestation of a 6-year old girl in a reputed Bangalore school reignited the issue of child security. The very fact that this incident took place in a well-known school only serves to heighten the intensity of the situation. Can schools no longer be considered a healthy and safe environment? With the growing insecurity of the public places, will schools join the club too? Imagine the horror of the concerned parents! Who could possibly think that sending their child to gain education would become a nightmare? The Bangalore incident does not stand in isolation and that’s precisely the dread. It happens all across the nation, in every city, in every town. An eight-year old girl was molested in a Delhi school by a teacher, a fourteen-year old girl was molested in the school’s toilet in Kolkata and many more gruesome cases occurred in the country.
Image: The Hindu
The nobility of the teaching profession is losing its sanctity as each new incident takes shape. There was a time when teachers were thought of as guardians and one who knows the child better than her/his own parents. Now, as these violent acts come into light, it reiterates the degrading of this noble profession where well-wishers turn predators.
The bottom line here is the plight of the parents. Parents fully entrust the educational institutions to provide a healthy environment for their children to learn in and when this fundamental notion is busted, it leaves them hopeless. Not only has it scarred the child for life but also sowed a doubt in the minds of millions parents who place their faith in schools. When a parent faces this extremely tragic experience psychological help is needed. Hence, schools must provide for psychological counseling sessions for both the children as well as the parents.
Image: The Indian Express
Of course, the vulnerability of the child cannot be ignored when debating on this issue. This is the primary reason why schools need to and must employ a sufficient number of security guards to patrol the entire campus. A young child falling prey to the vulgarity of the society in such a manner is indeed sorrowful. Most of the kids undergo such a cruel treatment at such a tender age that they fail to comprehend what really happened to them. Moreover, some are too scared to report these cases to their parents and hence several go unnoticed. Of those that come to light reveal a great deal about the integrity of educational institutions.
Indeed, it is a sad reality that young kids become easy targets of twisted minded people who are on the hunt for such victims. And schools become a site to carry out their heinous acts against them. This raises the debate about security in schools. And it isn’t such a difficult task. With the use of CCTV surveillance each corner of the school can be brought under the radar and can be carefully monitored. Regarding the toilets, posting a security guard outside is no hassle either. Given that most of these cases were reported from quite established schools, these measures are very much feasible and also necessary. A major step to control this situation is with the employment of counselors and advisors who are equipped to deal with such situations and in time prevent or mitigate them. Young children need to be dealt with utmost delicacy and adequate information to confront with such a situation must be given to the parents. Teachers and staff are equally responsible when a molestation incident takes place since it is their responsibility to take care of the children. Hence programs and workshops must be conducted to throw light on this issue and the staff members must have the knowledge to tackle this adversary. Moreover, this crime must be regarded with utmost seriousness as this is the first step to combat it.
However, the foremost task is to impart knowledge to the young kids about their body. They should learn to distinguish between the ‘good touch’ and the ‘bad touch’. Although it may not be possible to make them understand the gravity of the situation, they must be made to fully trust their parents and share such information with them. Children must learn how to react in these situations and to immediately report them. Teachers and schools staff need to become more accessible and sympathetic.
Having said that, there necessarily remains a strong and effective punishment procedure and the adherence to strict security guidelines by schools and any violation must be reacted to promptly.
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