Police verification of every person entering a school should be done, Manish Sisodia said.
Every staff member at every Delhi school will have to undergo mandatory police verification within three weeks, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced today amid outrage over the murder of a 7-year-old student at Gurgaon's
Ryan International School and the
rape of a five-year-old at a school in northwest Delhi. The measure, Mr Sisodia said, was among the three the Delhi government will enforce to ensure the safety of students.
"In every school in Delhi, rigorous police verification should be done of every staff, every person who enters the school premises within 3 weeks," Mr Sisodia said. The police, he said, will share a list of known child abuse offenders with schools. "We have told everyone to refer to that list," he said.
The minister, who also holds Delhi's education portfolio, said CCTV was a must in all government and private schools. These, he said, should be installed in classrooms, corridors, and laboratories. The schools, he added, must provide a monthly report to the police on the functionality of the CCTVs.
Yesterday, a three-member Special Investigation team had found that Ryan International School, where seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur was murdered on Friday, had serious lapses in its security system. The boy was killed by a conductor of the school but, who had initially tried to assault him sexually, the police said.
A report from the team said many of the CCTV cameras installed in the school campus were not functioning. There were no separate toilets for school bus conductors and drivers, which meant they went to the same toilet used by students. The school, the team also said, had hired staff without proper background checks and police verification.
With the report advising strong action against the school, two of its officials were arrested this morning. School CEO Ryan Pinto, and his parents Augustine and Grace PInto - who are managing director and chairperson -- have filed an anticipatory bail plea in the Bombay High Court.
Mr Sisodia said the Delhi government will form a high level committee, comprising education directors, the transport team, school principals, and police personnel which will create proper procedures and provide recommendations.