Haryana Human Rights Commission Issues Notice Over Panchkula School Violence Incident

Panchkula, November 14 (Daily Kiran) : The Haryana Human Rights Commission has taken action in response to a violent incident involving a six-year-old girl at a government school in Panchkula. The commission issued notices to the state’s education department’s principal secretary and local police officials, demanding a comprehensive review of safety measures in schools across the state.

The incident occurred on October 28 at the Government Model Culture Senior Secondary School in Sector 20, where the girl was brutally attacked by a fellow student, resulting in serious injuries. After being referred from a civil hospital in Sector 6, she was hospitalized at PGIMER in Chandigarh and has since returned home following treatment.

In light of the severity of the situation, the commission has requested detailed reports from five senior authorities. These include the principal secretary of the Haryana School Education Department, the police commissioner, the Panchkula deputy commissioner, the director of PGIMER, and the director general of health services in Haryana, along with the civil surgeon. The reports will cover various aspects, including the deployment of teachers and staff, student numbers, classroom arrangements, duty rosters at the time of the incident, CCTV footage, and safety protocols.

Additionally, the police commissioner has been asked to provide updates on the current status of the FIR investigation, preservation of evidence, and actions taken post-incident. The deputy commissioner is tasked with detailing the proceedings of the inquiry committee and any inspections or corrective measures undertaken so far.

The commission’s full bench, led by Justice Lalit Batra, emphasized the need to investigate how many teachers and staff were present to supervise students at the time of the incident. They also questioned whether students of different ages were being taught together, how CCTV monitoring was conducted, and why timely assistance was not provided to the injured girl. The commission clarified that addressing individual staff issues is insufficient; it is crucial to identify systemic flaws that may have contributed to the incident.

Referencing the Haryana School Safety Rules of 2017 and guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education in 2021, the commission stressed the importance of effective school safety committees, documentation for child protection, monitoring student movements, emergency communication systems, and crisis management plans. They highlighted the need for adequate supervision of children in classrooms and school premises, the availability of CCTV cameras in sensitive areas, and regular monitoring of footage.

The commission also proposed eight key preventive measures to enhance child safety, including promoting positive parenting and awareness among parents, identifying behavioral issues in children, strengthening CCTV surveillance, establishing uniform standard operating procedures for all schools, ensuring adequate teacher availability, conducting comprehensive safety audits, and implementing effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms.

Moreover, the commission reiterated the necessity of adhering to the student-teacher ratio of 30:1 as mandated by the Right to Education Act of 2009. This ratio does not imply that a teacher can leave 30 children unsupervised or group children of different ages together in a single classroom. Schools must ensure sufficient staffing and age-appropriate classroom arrangements for effective education.