Panchkula, Nov 14: The Haryana Human Rights Commission has raised serious concerns over school safety and supervision mechanisms following the alleged assault on a six-year-old girl at Government Model Sanskriti Senior Secondary School in Panchkula, calling for a comprehensive assessment of child protection arrangements across Haryana.
In an order dated November 13, the Commission highlighted potential shortcomings in teacher supervision, classroom management, CCTV monitoring and emergency response systems. It stressed that teachers must not leave children unattended and that students belonging to different classes should not be combined in a single classroom.
The Commission has also asked the state government to consider undertaking a time-bound and comprehensive safety audit of all schools and drawing up a concrete action plan to ensure that such incidents are not repeated.
Taking cognisance of the incident, Commission Chairperson Justice Lalit Batra, accompanied by Assistant Registrar Dr Puneet Arora, visited the school on October 31. During the visit, the officials examined the arrangements relating to school safety and the supervision of children.
After the inspection, Justice Batra told the media that the Commission would examine the circumstances surrounding the incident in detail, identify possible deficiencies in the school’s safety and monitoring systems, and recommend corrective measures.
The Commission observed that safeguarding every child within school premises was a fundamental responsibility of the school and the administration. It underlined that the incident raised concerns extending beyond the alleged negligence of an individual institution and called for scrutiny of broader child safety mechanisms.
The incident occurred on October 28, when the girl allegedly suffered multiple serious injuries. She was initially taken to Civil Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, and later referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh, for treatment. She has since been discharged.
