Badlapur sex abuse of tots: Vishaka committee to address sexual harassment in schools, says minister Deepak Kesarkar

MUMBAI: In the backdrop of the sex abuse of two nursery kids by a sweeper in a Badlapur school, education minister Deepak Kesarkar said a Vishaka Committee to address sexual harassment in educational institutions will be set up.

The minister said private schools will not only have to install closed-circuit television cameras, but they will also be responsible for their maintenance. In the Badlapur case, the cameras were not functioning.

While the sexual assault took place between August 13 to 16, the police delayed filing the complaint by over 12 hours. The school principal, class teacher, and a female attendant have been suspended.

Kesarkar said that while small children will not be able to raise their voice against sexual abuse, cameras installed in classrooms and corridors should be monitored by school authorities.

For girl students from higher classes, schools have been directed to install complaint boxes that need to be opened on a daily basis, and issues regarding sexual abuse should be addressed immediately. The minister said the Vishaka Committee in schools will be on the lines of the grievance committee set up in companies to address sexual harassment at the workplace.

He said that private schools install cameras which are mostly dysfunctional. He said that school management will be held responsible if cameras are found to be out-of-order. Cameras in schools were made mandatory in the last academic year. Kesarkar said that the work of installing cameras in govt schools is underway.

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