Mumbai: ‘Bring all institutions involved with kids under govt purview,' says GPTA

Citing two cases of sexual assault on kindergarten students on school premises in Kandivli and Badlapur within this year the Global Parents Teachers Association GPTA a statelevel collective of parents and teachers has raised serious concerns and called for urgent intervention from the state governmentIn an appeal submitted to the chief minister and the State Child Welfare Department the GPTA has demanded that all education institutions catering to children aged zero to five be brought under the governments purview a policy that has remained longpendingCall for immediate actionThe association representing the concerns of thousands of parents stressed that urgent intervention is required to address these incidents and protect the most vulnerable members of society The letter read ldquoOver the past few years incidents of sexual abuse and physical assaults on minor girls have increased significantly in areas like Kandivli and Badlapur Immediate steps should be taken to curb these incidents in futurerdquoInstitutionrsquos role in child protectionTalking to midday Rohit Dandawate president of GPTA said ldquoWho is responsible for the safety of children when incidents of abuse occur in these institutions If schools lack basic facilities like toilets drinking water or a safe environment who should be held accountablerdquo ldquoWhy are children being promoted from junior KG to senior KG placed in environments with inadequate facilitiesrdquo Dandawate asked ldquoWhat are the guidelines for safety and primary education for children under five years and how are these guidelines being enforcedrdquo Dandawate askedA system in crisisKandivli and Badlapur have been identified as areas with a significant rise in crimes against children particularly targeting girls The GPTA pointed to a failure in the system to adequately monitor and regulate institutions catering to young children The association believes that by bringing these facilities under the supervision of the primary education department more stringent safety standards can be enforced reducing the risk of abuse The associationrsquos letter also questions the current responsibility of the education department in child protection stating ldquoIf the education department does not have the responsibility of protecting the students then to which department should we turnrdquoUrgent reforms neededThe GPTA urged the chief minister and the Child Rights Commission to take prompt measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children in these institutions They requested that cregraveches anganwadis nursery classes daycare centres and preprimary schools be brought under the jurisdiction of the primary education department Dandawate said ldquoThe GPTA also called for immediate reforms to address the lack of basic amenities and proper infrastructure in these institutions They believe that by improving the overall environment the risk of harm to children can be significantly reducedrdquoGovernment oversightIn 2023 the School Education Department officially submitted draft legislation to regulate preprimary education to the state government Currently nurseries kindergartens and preprimary schools serving children aged three to six operate without any regulatory oversight and the exact number of such institutions remains unknownThe Maharashtra government introduced the Maharashtra PreSchool Centres Regulation of Admission Act in 1996 but it was scrapped due to political pressure In 2017 the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court directed the state to create a policy regulating preprimary schools by December 31Despite ongoing efforts to implement this policy the process remains incomplete The new legislation aims to bring all preprimary schools under state regulation as part of the National Education Policy NEPldquoThere is currently no regulation for the approval of preprimary schools or the establishment of a uniform curriculum The goal is not to take control of existing private preprimary schools but to reduce the disparity in education quality and curriculardquo said a senior official from the State School Education DepartmentldquoWe will ensure that educational institutions are not unnecessarily burdened Our focus is on what students are taught during these formative years as ages three to six are crucial for their development The draft is awaiting approvalrdquo the official said