Nagpur, Dec 11 (IANS) Maharashtra School Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse on Thursday informed the state Assembly that the government is installing CCTV cameras and providing other necessary safety infrastructure to strengthen the safety and security in schools across the state.

In a written reply to a question by NCP legislator Sulabha Khodke, the minister said that following the directions from the High Court, a Government Resolution (GR) was issued on May 13 mandating the installation of CCTV cameras for the security of students in all schools.

This decision covers schools of all mediums and management types and directs the implementation of comprehensive safety guidelines.

The government confirmed that a major factor contributing to inadequate school safety is the lack of School Safety Committees, Complaint Boxes, and first-aid facilities in many institutions.

According to the minister, a total of 60,049 government schools run by local self-governing bodies and 29,049 private schools in the state have installed CCTV cameras. Furthermore, 45,677 teachers and non-teaching staff in the state have registered in the Teachers-Staff Database.

Nearly 4,888 schools have registered under the School-Portal. About 1,03,665 School Safety Committees and 1,03,703 Parent-Teacher Associations have been formed. In addition, 1,03,703 schools have confirmed awareness and compliance regarding the POCSO Act and child protection guidelines.

The state has allocated Rs 18 crore for the purchase and installation of CCTV cameras in 16 Tribal Development Department (TDD) ashram schools, with the average cost of installation estimated between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh per school. In Amravati District, the work for installing CCTVs in 27 government schools was completed at a cost of Rs 2 crore through the ‘Super Computer’ company.

Palghar District has submitted a request for Rs 44 lakh from the Zilla Parishad to the District Collector for CCTV installation. Administrative approval for Rs 14 crore (80 per cent of the total cost) was received in the 2018-19 financial year, and the tender process is currently underway. Separately, 63 schools in Amravati district are also in the process of installing CCTVs.

Minister Bhuse said that measures related to student security and safety are being implemented in all schools across the state as per the May 13 GR, and continuous action is underway.

However, the opposition made a strong pitch for increasing the speed of the installation of CCTV cameras. They claimed implementation delays and a lack of dedicated funding across a majority of the state’s schools in the process.

–IANS

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