Panchkula: The Haryana Human Rights Commission on Saturday called for a time-bound safety audit of all schools in the state in the wake of a six-year-old girl student being assaulted at a government school in Panchkula by a third-grade student.
In its suo motu case, the HHRC raised serious concerns over a school incident, questioning the shortage of teachers, staff, and classroom management at the time of the incident, demanding verification of available teacher strength, student enrolment, and class-wise deployment.
The commission also demanded an examination into whether temporary arrangements compromised the supervision and safety of younger children, highlighting the absence of adequate oversight by teachers and staff members.
The HHRC questioned the delay in preventing the attack, noting that allegations of an injured child remaining unconscious inside a classroom for nearly two hours expose critical lapses in regular checks, monitoring, and immediate response protocols in the school.
Furthermore, the panel underscored deficiencies in the emergency medical response, stating that the circumstances surrounding the child's transfer between different hospitals, the delay in securing medical assistance and alleged financial constraints during treatment warrant strict scrutiny against prescribed emergency guidelines.
Highlighting the need for age-appropriate behavioural awareness, early identification of aggressive or bullying tendencies, and the availability of trained counsellors for psychological intervention, the organisation called for the interrogation of school officials to determine if negligence or a failure to implement safety safeguards contributed to the incident.
HHRC further asserted that the safety of a student within school premises remains a continuous responsibility of the State and educational authorities, stressing that any deficiency which results in a child's exposure to violence or injury demands rigorous examination and remedial action.
In view of these findings, the Commission has directed the concerned authorities to submit detailed factual reports at least one week prior to the next date of hearing.
Earlier, a six-year-old girl was allegedly assaulted by a third-grade student inside the premises of a government school in Panchkula. Following the incident, the Education Department of Haryana has suspended two Junior Basic Training (JBT) teachers with immediate effect in connection with the alleged assault.
The suspended teachers have been identified as Simranjeet Kaur and Pooja Rani. Meanwhile, the Haryana State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (HSCPCR) has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident.
The Commission has directed the District Education Officer, Panchkula, to submit a comprehensive, point-wise factual report detailing the action taken by the Education Department in the matter.
The victim's family questioned the school's security arrangements, claiming the accused third-grade student himself led them to the injured, unconscious girl, and asked why no one noticed the alleged attack despite CCTV cameras monitored from the principal's office.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
