New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that all schools will conduct 'good touch and bad touch' sessions to educate children under POCSO awareness drive.
"Delhi's POCSO Awareness Month is more than an awareness drive. This July, every school in Delhi will conduct good touch and bad touch awareness sessions, implement mandatory child safety protocols, and submit compliance reports within 15 days," Gupta said.
Supported by parents, teachers, Delhi Police, district magistrates and anganwadi workers, this is a city-wide movement for child protection, Gupta said in a statement.
The month-long campaign aims to strengthen child safety mechanisms across educational institutions and ensure that protection measures become a permanent part of school systems, she said.
As part of the initiative, child protection committees will be set up in all 5,633 schools across Delhi by the end of July. Teachers and school staff will also undergo training on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
An official statement said a comprehensive student safety checklist, prepared in line with guidelines of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) and the POCSO Act, is being implemented in all schools.
The checklist covers 1,077 Delhi government schools, 198 government-aided schools, 2,612 MCD, NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board schools and 1,746 private schools.
Delhi Police has appointed an additional deputy commissioner of police-rank officer as a nodal officer in each district to monitor child safety-related cases and coordinate with the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC), it said.
Educational and vocational guidance counsellors (EVGCs) are conducting sessions on safe and unsafe touch, gender sensitisation and personal boundaries, while students are also being provided self-defence training.
The Women and Child Development Department will carry out awareness campaigns on the POCSO Act at anganwadi-cum-palna centres, child care institutions and other facilities through videos, mobile awareness vans and publicity material, it added.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.