In wake of the recent assault on a six-year-old girl by her schoolmate at a government school in Panchkula, the block education officer (BEO) has issued a 32-point safety directive to all government schools, making school heads and teachers accountable for students’ safety during school hours.
Parents and autorickshaw drivers must be instructed to wait for children at the main gate and refrain from entering classrooms. Schools operating in double shifts must maintain separate entry and exit points to prevent congestion and ensure students’ safe movement. To prevent accidents and injuries, school authorities have been directed to remove bricks, stones, flower pots, blades, scissors, rods, pipes, wooden sticks, broken benches and other potentially dangerous objects from classrooms, corridors and areas accessible to children. Door stoppers must be used to secure doors instead of bricks or other objects. The instructions have been circulated to all principals, headmasters, school heads, head teachers, drawing and disbursing officers and school in-charges in Block Pinjore. They were also warned that school authorities and teaching staff will be held responsible for any lapse in implementing the directions.
