CBSE and ICSE schools in the city have started issuing identity cards to private vehicle drivers picking and dropping children.
Ensuring safe pick-up and drop of students is part of the 18-point guideline concerning safety of children issued by the Association of ICSE and CBSE Schools, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. More than 50 schools from the two districts, who are members of the Association, have already put in place many of the measures.
For instance, the Canara CBSE school collected the details of the drivers before issuing the identity card. School Principal Joy J. Rai said the card should be produced when asked for by the school. In addition, the school has also issued identity cards to parents, who need to produce them whenever they visit the school. Each of the house keeping staff of the school has been given responsibility of checking every classroom, rooms and toilets on a floor after the end of the school hours and maintain a record – a student clearance register.
The Yenepoya School authorities maintain a separate note each day of students going in each of the school van. The security guard at the gate keeps record of time these vans leave the school and return. While dropping the child at the specified stop it is ensured that parents are there at the bus stop. If anyone else comes, the helper in the school van ensures the person possesses the identify card of the child issued by the school. “If it is not produced, the child is brought back to the school,” said School Principal C.K. Manjunath.
The Lourdes Central School has started process of setting up a child safety committee for each class. School’s Principal Michael Lobo said the child safety committee comprising of a student’s representative, a representative each from teacher and parent, will be looking at complaints of breach of conduct in the school premises.
Members of these committees add to the strict vigil maintained by the school authorities on child safety and security.
Association president Thomas J Quadros, who is also the Principal of Glowinstar Integrated School in Udupi, said the schools have also been asked to hold programmes at regular intervals to sensitise parents and children about potential dangers. Children are also being educated on good and bad touches and how to report them.
“We are stressing parents to have interaction with their children for at least an hour every day to make the child reveal what he/she had done in the school.” The Association was also holding regular programmes to sensitise teachers and school principals about children’s safety and security, he said.
