In a move that could help students open up if they have faced any form of sexual harassment, Bihar schools will have special cells to hear such complaints.
The cells have been formed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), that aims to provide a robust legal framework for the protection of children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography.
Bihar Education Project Council, an organization dedicated to achieving Universal Elementary Education (UEE) in the state, had last week issued direction to all district education officers to set up POCSO cells in schools, with students among others as its members.
"We have given directions to the district education officers (DEOs) to set up POCSO cells in all schools of the state, starting March 1..."
"There will be a committee headed by the headmaster in each school, which will look into the complaints and take necessary action, according to the provisions of POCSO Act," Kiran Kumari, special project officer, Bihar Education Project Council (BEPC), told PTI.
According to a report by The Indian Express, all 75,000 schools in Bihar from Class I to Class XII would have POCSO cells functioning from March.
In the first phase, the units would be established in secondary schools, she said, adding that the model would be later replicated in primary and middle schools.
Each committee will have the school principal or headmaster, a senior school teacher, a panchayati raj representative, a girl student, a boy student and a clerk as its members, Kumari explained.