In light of the recent incident in Badlapur, student safety has become a top priority in Pune. The police and education departments have taken action by mandating character verification for all contract workers and staff in schools. This includes school van drivers, rickshaw drivers, helpers, sanitation workers, and other non-teaching staff across all levels of education in the city.
To ensure compliance, the Pune City Police Commissioner held a meeting with school managers and principals to outline guidelines for the verification process. Principals were instructed to not only verify the character of regular employees but also contract workers like security guards, sweepers, helpers, and school bus drivers. The focus is on obtaining character verification certificates from all contract employees promptly.
Nand Kumar Sagar, President of the Pune District Headmasters Association, confirmed that character verification for school contract workers and employees is currently underway as per the Education Department’s directives. However, he expressed concerns about the effectiveness of character verification alone in preventing incidents, citing the issue of accused individuals escaping due to lack of evidence.
Sujit Jagtap, President of the Pune City Principals Association, echoed the importance of character verification and emphasized the need for schools to keep these certificates on record. He did raise questions about the validity period of the certificates and whether re-verification would be necessary in the future.
In addition to character verification, schools are advised to take essential measures to enhance student safety. This includes having a counsellor on campus, conducting workshops on ‘safe touch,’ collaborating with the ‘Damini Team,’ teaching students martial arts and self-defence, and fostering open communication between teachers, parents, and students.
Before appointing any staff, schools are urged to monitor employee behaviour, conduct thorough background checks, obtain character verification reports from the local police system, and prioritize hiring female staff for non-teaching roles involving young students. These precautions are essential in creating a safe and secure environment for all students in Pune schools.
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