Orissa students to get helpline for grievances

BHUBANESWAR - The Orissa government Saturday decided to set up a students helpline soon to redress grievances of school children, a senior official of the school and mass education department said.

The helpline would be set up on an experimental basis this year to help children from class one to class tenth to lodge their grievances by making calls to a toll free number any time between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on any working day, the official told IANS.

The government has taken the decision after several incidents of physical and mental harassments of school children by different people including by teachers were reported during past few months, he said.

Officials will receive the calls from the students and record them. They will try to redress their grievances by informing the matter to the authorities concerned in the respective districts.

In all the cases, the identity of the students will be kept secret, he said. The government will however only take action on the complaints after proper enquiry, he said.