Online petition seeks safety audit of schools

Mumbai: A parent has started an online petition on Change.org, seeking the Union ministry of human resource development’s (MHRD) intervention for periodic safety-audit in every school in the country. This petition urges all these departments to check the basic security measures in every school in the country.

 The petition will also be submitted to the departments of school education and literacy, ministry of women and child development, the chief ministers of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh offices and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The safety audit should look at whether the school regularly monitors functioning of CCTVs, GPS devices, alarms and lifts. The petition also states that the schools must have a control room and panic buttons in and near washrooms, swimming pools or any places that have the possibilities of being deserted. The petitioner, who is also a parent, sought mandatory education on good and bad touch for students in schools along with other topics.

The petition also suggests that there should be regular PTA meetings so the parents can get updates on the school safety upkeep or anything that has been newly introduced. It also includes interaction with the life guard or attendants inside the school, so the parents know who all are around their children. The petitioner has also demanded that schools should be ‘certified’ on certain parameters. Around 19,976 people have supported this petition till Monday evening.