HC raps DoE for not executing medical emergency suggestions

A committee had listed measures to make schools safer for students

The Directorate of Education has been pulled up by the Delhi High Court for not implementing recommendations on medical emergencies in schools on Wednesday.

The report by ‘Expert Committee on Psycho-Physical Requirement and Medical Crisis Management Mechanism in Schools’ was prepared by the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) in 2010.

It urged schools to include safety and accident prevention measures in their regular curriculum and adhere to basic safety standards.

The report highlights immediate availability of first aid in schools and emergency care plan.

There are over 50 recommendations in the report which deals with psychological and physical health of schoolchildren.

“At the time of the release of the report, the government had promised to take necessary action. But nothing has been done yet,” said advocate Ashok Agarwal, who was a member of the committee formed by the government to implement the recommendations.

Citing the example of a class 7 student who lost his eye after being beaten up by his teacher, Agarwal alleged that accidents are taking place in schools resulting in serious injuries and even deaths of students.

However, there are no measures to deal with medical emergencies in many schools.

 “The government is just delaying it which is a serious prejudice against nearly 45 lakh children studying in government, government-aided and private schools in Delhi.

“Implementation of recommendations of the committee is essential now,” he added.

The court ruling on Wednesday read: “Since the matter pertains to the protection of the rights of children, that too, suffering from psycho-physical ailments, we expect early response and decision of the committee on these issues.”
 
The DoE informed the court that a ‘Medical Crisis Management Committee’ has been set up for the purpose of overseeing the previous committee’s work. They had also sent a circular saying that these committees have been formed and schools will consult them for medical crisis management.

However, schools say they do not recollect receiving the circular from DoE last year. But principals strongly believe that there should be an internal emergency committee to cater to such issues.

“I strongly believe that schools should have trained manpower and tie-ups with hospitals in case of emergency,” said L V Sehgal, chairperson of National Progressive Schools Alliance and principal, Bal Bharti School.

“The court has directed the Delhi government to file a status report on the implementation of these recommendations by 16 May 2012.

8,000 EWS seats vacant

Meanwhile, education minister Arvinder Singh said on Thursday that about 8,000 seats under EWS category are lying vacant in different public schools in the city.

These seats will be filled on the recommendations of Directorate of Education, added Singh at a review meeting of the education department at Delhi secretariat.

“The lists of number of seats lying vacant under EWS category in different public schools have been received by the department.

“These vacant seats will be filled on the recommendations of directorate of education on the basis of the applications received by the directorate for admission,” said Singh.

 The DoE will issue a public notice for the admission process, which will start within a week.