Kathua administration organises workshop on safety, security of school children

Kathua : To acquaint the stakeholders with safety and security manuals for school children developed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), District Administration organized a day long District Level Workshop, here at conference hall of DC Office complex.The first ever workshop on the subject was organized by the Department of School Education in collaboration with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights(NCPCR).During the inaugural session, the chief guest, Deputy Commissioner, O P Bhagat, called upon the participants to learn and implement the Manual which contains legislations, guidelines, advisories and other suggested measures by different departments and agencies for safety and security of the school going children. ‘In the era of computers and smartphones, a child needs vigil parenting coupled with a safe and secure atmosphere both at home and school,’ added DC.Senior Superintendent Police, Shailendra Mishra emphasized on the need to address the physical and psychological challenges faced by the school children besides giving them safe and secure surroundings.Attending the workshop through virtual mode, the State Mission Director ICPS, Shabhnam Kamili said the department is mandated to undertake activities for creating awareness on ‘Protection of Child Rights’, adding that webinars were organized to get convergent efforts from all concerned for achieving desired results.Joint Director, School Education H. R Pakhroo said the Department being the biggest public enterprise has taken a series of initiatives for creating a safe and congenial atmosphere in schools. He said a step like the ‘Talaash’ programme initiated by the School Education Department was to arrest the dropout rate of school going children. He said the measures such as ban on corporal punishment, track on child abuse and sexual harassment were taken to remove psycho social hindrances faced by the school going children. Earlier, Resource person from NCPCR, Muddasar Nazar held an interactive session with participants and threw lights on enactments like The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO), Juvenile Justice Act, and Right to Education etc and other aspects of NCPCR manual through Power Point Presentation. Assistant Labour Commissioner, Brijnesh Kumari Thakur; Assistant Controller Drugs, Rajesh Angurana and Child Protection Officer, Yudhvir Singh also spoke on the occasion and discussed the roles and working profiles of their respective departments in children safety and security. District Education Planning Officer, Aruna Sharma who was also the Nodal Officer of the workshop presented the vote of thanks. Additional Deputy Commissioner Atul Gupta, Zonal Education Officers, Principals, Chairman of Private Schools and other concerned attended the workshop.