School safety means creating a safe and secure environment for our children in all respects from their homes to the school and back. Safety of children includes not safety from physical, social and emotional abuses but safety from natural and manmade disasters. The aim of creating a safe and healthy school environment is for the holistic development of children. The NEP 2020 stresses a safe and stimulating learning environment in all schools where children can be nurtured with love, care, compassion and affection. Safe and stimulating learning environment offers a wide range of experiences. Physical abuses include beating physically like slapping, punching, kicking, corporal punishment, pinching, spitting, pushing and showing bitter expressions. Sexual abuses include sexual abuse, passing sexual comments, sharing pornographic pictures and videos, obscene conversations, phone calls and text messages. Emotional abuses include belittling, insulting, mocking, shaming, harassing, name-calling, neglect, stigma, discrimination, maltreatment, abandonment, separation. Disasters are natural and manmade like earthquakes, floods, threat of wild animals, fires etc. Children are an asset and future of our society. They have immense inherent potential and qualities. Exploration of their talent and potential always requires a healthy, safe, secure and supportive environment. Healthy, safe, secure and supportive environment is important for their growth, development and effective learning process. Children can groom, nurture and thrive well in a safe and supportive environment of schools. Physical, social and emotional abuses, environmental threats, human made risks, small-scale fires, transportation hazards adversely affect the lives of children. Unsafe and insecure school environments affect the studies of children and have serious repercussions on their personality development. Children coming from poor families are more vulnerable to abuse due to lack of necessities of life like balanced diet, clothing, and health care. Physical, sexual and emotional abuse in schools violates fundamental rights of children and the right to live with dignity and to have a safe and secure school environment under the constitution of India. Children spend a little time with parents at their homes but spend significant time with teachers in schools. Teachers play an important role in shaping the future of students and taking them to new heights by their effective teaching only in a safe and secure environment. Safe and secure environment enables students to learn, groom, nurture, grow, and become good citizens of society. Teacher occupies a position of trust and society expects a lot from him. Any negligence on part of a teacher regarding school safety matters affect the children severely. Any physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional abuse committed by a teacher shatters the child both physically and emotionally. Effects of any of these abuses are long lasting and the wounds inflicted by such abuses are carried by children for life. Schools where children are at risk of any kind of abuse and violence, such children will leave their schools once for all, it is pertinent to mention that stagnation, and dropout rates in unsafe schools are very high. Insecure and unsafe school environments cause disasters and disasters have great physical, educational, economic and psychological impacts on children. Physical impacts include loss of life, injuries and damage to school physical structures like school buildings. Educational impacts include increasing dropout rate and decreasing quality education in schools. Psychological impacts include anxiety and stress in children and economic impacts cause loss of school income and taxpayers money.
“Students deserve a safe, inclusive and supportive environment as a safe and secure environment is a prerequisite for effective teaching learning process. Teachers, parents, students, school management committee and village education committee should join hands together to ensure a safe, secure and healthy school environment for holistic development of children. Safety and security includes safety from any kind of abuse, violence, psychosocial issue, disaster (natural and manmade).”
To save our blooming children from abuses, violence, disasters etc., it is important to keep the school environment clean, safe and secure. Safe schools protect the children from abuses, violence, exposure to threats, theft, bullying, harassments, and use of illegal substances. Safe schools improve academic performance and health of children; reduce dropout rate, stagnation, accidents and incidents. Safe schools not only provide safety of children but safety for all stakeholders including teachers. Safe schools also mean teachers in all schools should work; teach without fear, ridicule, intimidation, humiliation and violence. The government has adopted a zero tolerance policy against any negligence on any part of individuals or management of schools towards the safety and security of children in schools. Safe school facilities for a safe learning environment includes safe school building, boundary wall, playground, classroom, library, laboratories, safe drinking water, kitchen, MDM, hand washing pumps, toilets, electric wiring and barrier free access to differently abled children. School authorities should identify the possible hazards that can be threats to life and property such as landslides, earthquake, fire, road accidents, and wild animals. School authorities need to ensure a safe and conducive school environment by repairing damaged infrastructure, arranging fire extinguishers, retrofitting and first aid boxes. Periodic conduct of mock drills, disaster awareness programmes, establishment of an alert mechanism, School Disaster Management Plans and conduct of school safety audits are very important for school safety. Children glued with mobile phones in a contemporary society are more vulnerable to cyber risks and become easy prey to cyber threats and abuses. Keeping in view their vulnerability to cyber threats and violence, the department of school education has been conducting cyber safety counselling and awareness programmes among students across the schools of Jammu and Kashmir. The school education department has been also conducting capacity building training programmes for teachers on school safety at SCERT and DIET levels. The resource teachers are transferring knowledge and skills to the teachers for ensuring safety of children in schools. School officials are entrusted with the responsibility of creating the citizens of tomorrow. It is the duty and responsibility of every official from the head of institution to the multitasking worker to create such a niche in the school where budding and blooming children feel a homely environment and are nurtured with great care, love, affection, and compassion. Students deserve a safe, inclusive and supportive environment as a safe and secure environment is a prerequisite for effective teaching learning process. Teachers, parents, students, school management committee and village education committee should join hands together to ensure a safe, secure and healthy school environment for holistic development of children. Safety and security includes safety from any kind of abuse, violence, psychosocial issue, disaster (natural and manmade).
(The author is a Teacher at Govt Boys Higher Secondary School Beerwah, Budgam. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
