Unprecedented rise in cases of sexual abuse of schoolchildren

As many as four incidents of such heinous crimes involving girl students, who were studying in some of the prominent local schools, were reported this year, catching schools and the authorities concerned off guard.

Three of these incidents occurred while the children were commuting to school, which exposed the vulnerability of students ferried to school and back by private buses and vans.

In the latest incident, a 30-year-old vice-principal, also the moral science teacher of Class VIII from a convent school in Lohegaon, was arrested on November 18 for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old girl student for over one year. The school principal too was arrested almost a month later for allegedly not reporting the sexual abuse case despite being aware of it.

While the memories of this horrific incident were fresh, the driver of a school van was accused of raping a seven-year-old girl from a school in Warje area. The school authorities completely shrugged off their responsibility, maintaining that the van in which the incident took place was not an “official” mode of transport.

In April, a Class IV student from a private English medium school in Hadapsar was found to be a victim of sexual crime. A bus attendant with the help of the driver allegedly raped the girl at his residence before dropping her home.

The incident happened in October 2013 but the girl broke her silence almost five months later, following which an FIR was lodged with the police by her parents.

Barely a few weeks before this, a girl from a reputed school in Erandwane area had come out with a complaint of molestation following which a large group of parents staged an angry protest outside the school and tried to beat up its director.

The local police invoked the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 against the accused in all these incidents. The Act bars media from disclosing the identity of the victim child without the permission of the special court.

Following the first two incidents reported this year, the competent authorities such as the RTO and the traffic police swung into action and prevailed upon schools to comply with all norms laid down in the school bus policy. The education department conducted a workshop of principals to spread awareness about schools’ compliance with these norms. Stressing utmost importance for safety and security of school transportation, the department also organised a workshop where students were educated about “good touch and bad touch” to avert incidents of sexual abuse.

Challenges 2015

Comprehensive policy for school transport needed

Though the existing government policies related to school transportation largely focus on buses as a medium of school transportation, the related rules and regulations have relaxed norms on ensuring safety of students commuting through vans, PMPML buses and autorickshaws. These alternative means of school transportation ferry a considerable chunk of students on a daily basis as they are easier to manoeuver in narrow lanes and small arterial roads.

The education department has, time and again, assured parents of framing a comprehensive proposal towards incorporating popular modes of students’ transportation in safety policy, but nothing much has happened on ground. Speedy steps towards framing such stringent rules and regulations and their strict implementation have been cited as need of the hour by parents and other stakeholders.