Police checks must for private school staff in Jamshedpur: East Singhbhum administration

Jamshedpur: Teachers and non-teaching staff of private schools in Jamshedpur, along with transport personnel, who are engaged in ferrying students to and from the schools, will now have to submit police-verified character certificates to their respective institutes.East Singhbhum district administration has asked the schools to ensure that all their staff, including teachers and non-teaching personnel, furnish their character certificates before the start of the new academic session, which is slated to begin from March.That apart, the drivers of school buses, private vans and auto-rickshaws also must provide their character certificates to the respective institutes.“The new norm must be implemented in the schools before the start of the new academic session (2026-27),” district education officer Manoj Kumar and district superintendent of education Ashish Kumar Pandey said. “Even the parents need to demand the character certificate from the van and auto drivers before hiring them for transporting their children to schools,” Pandey further said.The norm will be applicable in all recognized schools who run classes from nursery to senior secondary. The operators will now be required to fit their vehicles with GPS trackers so that their location can be tracked in real time.That apart, the institutes have been asked to install CCTVs in the school building, on campus and at the gates and set up a helpline number for the parents to contact the school officials during emergencies.The directives came to prevent students from sexual abuse. On Jan 28, an auto-driver was arrested for sexually abusing a six-year-old girl in Birsanagar area. The auto drivers’ union protested the arrest and claimed that the charges against the driver were false.“This step should have been taken by the administration much before. Even the parents must be careful in hiring vans for transporting their children to school and tuition classes,” said Jamshedpur Parents Association President Umesh Kumar.In Ranchi, many schools claimed that they are already following mandatory police verification for teachers, staff members, bus, van drivers and support personnel.Paramjit Kaur, the principal of Cambrian Public School in Ranchi, said, "The institution follows strict protocols before appointing any employee. For every staff member, including bus drivers and teaching faculty, police verification is conducted to ensure student safety. Along with this, soft skill training programmes are also organised for staff to maintain discipline, professionalism and mutual respect within the school premises."Regular sensitisation and training sessions are being organised on regular basis, claimed academic coordinator at Oxford Public School, Ravi Shekhar. “Regular sensitisation and training sessions help staff members better understand child safety norms, communication ethics and responsible conduct. Such initiatives are increasingly being adopted by educational institutions as part of a broader effort to create safe, supportive and well-regulated learning environments,” he said.(With inputs from Ranchi)