Police verification certificates are now compulsory for guest teachers in government schools, Child Rights Commission chairperson announced.
Chikkaballapur
In a significant move aimed at strengthening child safety in government schools, the Chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Shashidhar Kosambe, has directed that all guest teachers appointed in government schools must mandatorily submit police verification certificates. The directive was issued during a grievance redressal programme on the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, held at the district administration building in Chikkaballapur on December 24.
Addressing officials from multiple departments, Kosambe instructed the Deputy Director of the School Education Department to ensure that no guest teacher is allowed to continue in service without a police verification certificate issued by the police department. He warned that the commission would initiate suo motu legal proceedings if compliance is not ensured within a week.
The commission, he said, had come across instances in other districts where individuals involved in criminal activities and facing police cases were working as guest teachers. Such persons were subsequently removed from service. To prevent similar incidents, Kosambe emphasized the need to thoroughly verify the background of all guest teachers in Chikkaballapur district and ensure there are no such cases pending.
During the programme, officials informed that the district has 1,842 schools and that the 2016 Child Protection Policy is being implemented across these institutions. However, Kosambe directed the Women and Child Development Department officials to conduct surprise inspections of at least ten schools and submit a detailed report within a week to verify actual implementation.
Attention was also drawn to issues related to student welfare schemes. Of the 1,59,892 students studying in district schools, Aadhaar details of 41,939 students have not yet been uploaded to their respective bank accounts. As a result, these students are being deprived of government scholarship benefits. The chairperson instructed officials to complete this process at the earliest. It was further revealed that many children do not possess birth certificates.