CBSE Orders CCTVs in Schools, Psychometric Test For Staff Within 2 Months

New Delhi, Sep 14: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday ordered its affiliated schools to install functioning CCTV cameras and file a report of psychometric test of all the school staff including the supporting staff within next two months to ensure safety all students. The circular has come days after 7-year-old Pradyuman Thakur was found murdered at Ryan International School, Gurugram. “Verification and evaluation for non-teaching staff such as bus drivers, conductors, peon and other support staff may be done very carefully and in a detailed manner,” the circular read. Setting stringent measures into motion, CBSE released a circular ‘Safety of Children in Schools’ in which it asked all the Delhi schools to ensure safety of the children in the school premises. The circular lays out various parameters in the school premises owing to increasing incidents involving safety and wellbeing of school children. “Owing to increasing incidents involving safety and well-being of school children. The onus for safety and security of children in school campus shall solely lie upon the school authorities. It is a fundamental right of a child to engage and study in an environment where he/she feels safe and is free from any form of physical or emotional abuse or harassment,” the circular read. The circular also involves: (1) Install CCTV Cameras at all vulnerable areas/point in the School premises and ensure they are functional at all times (2) Ensure that supporting staff is employed only from authorized agencies and proper records are maintained (3) The access to school building by outsiders should be controlled and visitors monitored, among others. The circular also said that the staff members should be “educated to recognize their protective obligation towards students and to ensure safety and well being of children in schools”.