Schools should verify bus drivers, helpers antecedents: Minister

NEW DELHI - Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia Monday asked the state education ministry to make it mandatory for all schools, including private ones, to verify the antecedents of drivers and helpers ferrying schoolchildren.

She also said all institutes should have provisions for counselling.

Speaking to reporters, Walia said she had written to Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely asking him to direct his officials to formulate a plan in this regard so that the incident of rape and sodomisation of three schoolchildren in Prasad Nagar area in central Delhi should not recur. She termed the incident the “worst-ever” she had come across.

“In the letter, I have mentioned that an order must be issued to principals and heads of the educational institutes to make it compulsory for verifying the character and antecedents for ensuring safety and security of the children,” she added.

Walia said she consulted renowned psychiatrist Rajat Mitra about the trauma suffered by the three children. He was of the opinion that such crimes needed to be discouraged and condemned since they incidents leave an indelible and lifelong imprint of horror and misery in the minds of the victims, she said.

She, however, accused the local police of “inaction” after the matter surfaced and said she directly took up the matter with Delhi Police chief Y.S. Dadwal, who has now referred it to the Crime Branch.

“We now hope that the Crime Branch also look into the insenstivity of the local police towards such issues,” she added.

The minister also emphasised on counselling for students in schools, saying that there are some matters which children reveal only to counsellors and not their parents.

–Indo-Asian News Serrvice