Mandatory police verification of school staff ordered
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta directed authorities to make mandatory police verification of school staff, bus and van drivers, attendants and sanitation workers.
The Chief Minister also called for a stronger, NGO-backed campaign to make Delhi free of child begging, at a Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) meeting on Friday.
Chairing the meeting, the Chief Minister said the Government’s priority was to bring children out of begging and connect them with education, skills and a dignified life. She directed the commission to strengthen the anti-begging campaign through public participation, calling for willing non-Governmental organisations, civil society organisations and resident welfare associations to be brought on board to expand the drive’s reach at the local level. The meeting was attended by DCPCR chairman OP Vyas, commission members and senior officials.
Placing child safety at the top of the agenda, the Chief Minister suggested that awareness campaigns on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act be made a continuous, ongoing activity rather than a periodic exercise.
She stressed that mandatory police verification of all school-linked staff, including bus and van drivers, attendants and sanitation workers, was necessary to eliminate any scope for negligence in matters concerning children’s safety.
On the future of children living in child care institutions (CCIs), the Chief Minister directed that detailed information be compiled and submitted to her office.
She asked the commission to prepare a list of children currently in after-care facilities, including details such as name, age, the concerned institution, duration of stay, education and qualifications, and skills acquired.
The Chief Minister said merely providing shelter to children leaving these institutions was not enough, and that they needed to be connected with education, skills and employment to become self-reliant.
On school nutrition, the Chief Minister directed the commission to inspect arrangements for mid-day meals prepared by school cooks, as well as the nutritional food provided at anganwadi centres, particularly during National Nutrition Month.
The meeting also discussed preparing reports through interns to review facilities at anganwadi and palna centres, along with assessing the behaviour of anganwadi workers toward the children in their care.
The Chief Minister additionally suggested promoting career guidance arrangements for students studying in Government and municipal schools.