Schools will also have to set up 'Sakhi Savitri' committee to maintain decorum. Source: Pixabay
Maharashtra school education minister Varsha Gaikwad has directed all schools to install CCTV cameras in a bid to prevent cases of sexual harassment on campus.
Speaking in the Legislative Council, Gaikwad said there are some 65,000 schools in the state comprising state run, state funded, private ones and those attached to various education boards. More than 1,000 of these schools already have CCTV cameras, she added.
"All these schools must install CCTV cameras to put a check on sexual harassment. We will make it mandatory for schools to support the CCTV cameras with a hard-drive so that daily footage can be recorded and made available if required for inquiry,” she said.
Speaking about the funding for this scheme, she added, "We will see how we can get more funds for this scheme. We will utilise funds from MLA Local Area Development, MP LAD, and CSR.”
Schools will have to set up 'Sakhi Savitri' committee comprising principal, a woman teacher, doctor, anganwadi worker, and male and female students to maintain school decorum and, if needed, to carry out inquiry as well. Names of members must be prominently displayed in schools, she added.
Gaikwad said the school education commissioner will oversee the functioning of these committees.