10 hours ago
Form student advisory panels in all schools: HC to edu dept
Madurai: Madras high court recently directed the school education department to constitute student safeguarding advisory committees in schools across the state.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate G Shabna of Theni district.
The petitioner sought a direction to the school education department authorities to constitute student safeguarding advisory committees in govt schools, create awareness among the students about the committee, and ensure teaching and non-teaching staff complete an annual mandatory orientation programme on the Pocso Act.
The petitioner's counsel submitted that a GO was issued by the school education department in 2021, providing guidelines to protect and safeguard students from sexual harassment.
As per the GO, student safeguarding advisory committees are to be constituted to create awareness among the students.
In a status report, the director of the school education department submitted that 11,820 govt schools reconstituted the committees in Coimbatore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Kallakurichi, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Mayiladuthurai, Theni, Tirupattur, Tirupur, and Sivaganga districts. In the year 2023-24, these schools conducted a total of 42,126 committee meetings, and during 2024-25, a total of 42,194 meetings were conducted.
Additionally, annual orientation training on Pocso Act awareness was conducted in 11,820 govt schools for the year 2023-24, in which 68,245 teachers and 46,281 other staff participated. For the year 2024-25, as many as 70,105 teachers and 49,974 other staff received orientation training on Pocso Act awareness. The authorities sought time to compile data for the remaining districts and produce the same before the court.
A division bench of justice S M Subramaniam and justice A D Maria Clete observed that the student safeguarding advisory committees were constituted in several areas; however, they are yet to be constituted in some areas across the state.
Hence, the judges directed the authorities to collect the data in respect of the districts where the committees have not been constituted and initiate action to constitute the committees as per the 2021 GO, within eight weeks. The petition was disposed of and was posted for reporting compliance on August 5.
