Politics
Gujarat bars school visitors without principal written nod
Hindustan Times·
Gujarat's education department circular dated October 21 bars outsiders from government school premises without prior written permission from the principal. Photography or videography of students or teachers also needs that written approval. Visitors have to sign an entry register and remain with school officials. Congress's Manish Doshi said about 40,000 teacher posts were vacant and about 42,000 classrooms were dilapidated.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Access to classrooms, laboratories, libraries, playgrounds and toilets with students present needs prior written permission.
- Unauthorised entry or recording is to be reported to local police and education authorities.
- The circular cites the Pocso Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act among possible legal routes.
What's Happening
- The state cited in loco parentis duties, NCPCR safety guidelines and a Supreme Court privacy ruling.
- Only duly authorised government officials on official duty are exempt from the visitor rule.
- Doshi said camera limits would not fix teacher shortages or poor classroom conditions.
Opposition numbers cited
- Doshi claimed around 3,000 schools ran with a single teacher serving more than 80,000 students.
- He also said around 14,500 schools had students from multiple grades in one room.
- Rajasthan and several Uttar Pradesh districts have issued similar outsider bans in the past three months.
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