Bengaluru: Right to information activists in Karnataka have criticized the southern Indian government for not installing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in its schools.
Installation of such cameras was made mandatory for all schools after Karnataka witnessed a spate of sexual abuses of minor children two years ago.
However, no government schools have installed the cameras even now, laments Veeresh Bellur of Mahiti Hakku Adhyayana Kendra, an organization of Right To Information (RTI) activists. The group had earlier asked the state education department for a list of government and private schools that have installed CCTV cameras.
It was this department and the police who had made the CCTV cameras compulsory for schools. However, a social audit has found that the biggest law breaker was the government. The first phase of the audit covered Bengaluru North Range 1, covering 398 schools.
While all private schools have installed CCTV cameras, government schools failed to do so.
The officials of the department, in a series of replies from the department, the latest on May 12, revealed how they have failed to implement their own order.
As per information received, 69 private primary schools were among the 398 schools that receive state government grants in aid. They have installed CCTV cameras on their premises and six more are in the process of installing them.
Also, 48 private high schools, which receive government grant in aid, have followed the government order; as have 42 of the 134 unaided private schools.
On the other hand, none of the 120 government primary schools and 19 government high schools has installed CCTV cameras on their campuses.
Bellur termed as “unfortunate” that the government has failed to honor its own rule. “This shows their attitude toward government schools and students. Are students studying in government schools immune?” he asked. According to him, such a lackluster reaction makes students of those schools more prone to abuse, as the predators are not monitored.
The activist added that once all schools were covered in the audit, a decision would be taken whether to pursue the issue legally, considering the seriousness of the lapse. An official maintained that the ministry top brass, who issued the order, had not shown the same seriousness with government schools as funds had not been released to procure CCTV cameras.