Schools show no urgency on police circular

Only 209 of the 2,500-odd schools in the city have complied with the directions by the police over getting the antecedents of their staff verified. This after more than a month since the police commissioner issued a circular in this regard.

The 209 schools, all private, have submitted 1,498 applications for the verification process and none of the government and BBMP schools has come forward, police sources told Deccan Herald.

The commissioner issued a circular on September 12, 2014, saying it was mandatory for teaching and non-teaching staff of all schools, private and government, to obtain the antecedent and address verification certificate from the police.

The decision was taken by the police after a meeting with Shashi Kumar, secretary of the Karnataka Private Schools Joint Action Committee, to ensure the safety of schoolchildren in the wake of the rape of a six-year-old girl at Vibgyor High school in Marathahalli.

However, so far, only 209 private schools have submitted 1,498 applications for the verification process and none of the government or BBMP schools has come forward, the sources said.

“The verification is being carried out for the applications we have received and it will take time for the process to be completed. A few schools have taken it seriously and are following it up with us on a regular basis,” the sources said.

Safety measures lacking

Several schools across the City have not yet implemented the safety guidelines issued by the police either. The shocking fact is that a majority of the non-teaching staff are not aware of the exercise. 

Kamlesh Rao, a driver from a private school, said, “We have not been asked for any of our personal information from the management of the school. They have also not asked us to get our background verified on our own by the police.”

A housekeeping staff from another private school said that she got to know from the news channels that they should get their background verified. 

But when she asked the school management, they told her that they will look into it later as they do not have much time.

According to the circular, after obtaining the verification certificate from the police, the staff will be issued authorised identity cards from the respective institutions. 

Teaching and non-teaching staff, school van/bus drivers and management representatives have to pay a fee of Rs 250 each and get “police verification certificate for job aspirants” besides getting the “verification of antecedents and address” done by the police, the circular said.

Police sources said that neither the management nor the staff of Orchids The International School in Jalahalli and The Indiranagar Cambridge School in HAL 3rd Stage had applied for verification of antecedents. 

While a three-year-old was raped at the Jalahalli school on October 25 by an office assistant, a Class 1 student was sexually abused by a teacher at The Indiranagar Cambridge School on October 28 and 29.