Child safety: Seven departments in Karnataka issue joint circular

With an aim to curb teen pregnancies, child abuse, and child marriages, seven departments have issued a joint circular asking authorities concerned to initiate a slew of measures.

The government has made CCTV camera surveillance mandatory at both residential and non-residential schools.

The departments of School Education and Literacy, Social Welfare, Health and Family Welfare, Backward Classes Welfare, Minority Welfare, Home, and Women and Child Development have issued the joint circular, following a recent meeting headed by Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh.

The circular stated that authorities should mandatorily display the child helpline numbers in the rooms of the residential schools. The residential schools have been instructed to separate girls and boys hostels by constructing compounds and also tighten security measures.

For high school children, a health check-up by a gynaecologist has been made mandatory, particularly after students return to the hostels following a long vacation.

To ensure the safety of children at residential hostels, the government has made it mandatory to do background verification of all staff. “In case any girl is absent from school for three continuous days then details of such a student should be given to the gram panchayat concerned by the head of the school and also to Child Line 1098,” reads the circular.

“Counselling should be conducted for children to make them understand about physical and mental changes they will undergo as teenagers and also educate children about the free helpline 14416,” it said.