Mumbai: Lack of full-time staff risks students’ safety, says Principal body

Women protest outside the Badlapur police station following the sexual assault of two minors. File Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Following the incident at a private school in Badlapur, where two minor girls were assaulted by a contractual cleaning staff member last month, the Brihanmumbai Principals' Association has highlighted the lack of full-time support staff, such as peons and cleaning personnel, in private aided schools since 2018.

The association noted that over 4,500 peon and support staff positions remain unfilled across more than 10,000 schools in the state, with many of these roles being temporarily filled by contractual workers. They emphasised that this staffing situation affects student safety, citing that the accused in the Badlapur case was a contractual worker recruited through an agency. In recent years, the government has cited a lack of funds to support full-time non-teaching staff in private aided schools, offering only a monthly provision of Rs 10,000.

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Sanjay Patil, President of the Brihanmumbai Principals' Association, said, "This has forced many schools to hire peons/support staff on a contractual basis, as it is not feasible to hire full-time staff with such a limited budget. This isn't the first such incident, as serious crimes have been reported in other schools involving contractual staff or temporary staff.

Patil emphasised that when employed full-time, peons and support staff are more committed to their work and are directly accountable to the school administration, which oversees their salaries and job security. "Not only private aided schools but all schools across the state need full-time peons/support staff for ensuring student safety. The recruitment should be done through the government, like earlier when the post of a peon/ support staff was government-approved only. This kind of recruitment is a responsible one. These recruits have a sense of responsibility and a fear of losing a permanent job. They are also aware about rules," Patil said.

As per Patil it was decided by the government in 2020 through a GR that peons and support staff would be recruited on a contractual basis, before this the post was a government-approved one. Patil stated that peons and support staff serve as a watchful presence in schools, akin to a CCTV camera for principals. "Constantly moving around the school, they closely observe everything and often step in to discipline students when needed. As permanent members of the school ecosystem, peons are essential for maintaining order and safety."

Sujit Jagtap, president of the Pune City Principals' Association, said, "The Pune city police commissioner, along with the education department, has recommended that character verification of contractual workers and school employees be done as soon as possible. Once obtained, the character verification certificate will be kept with the school management. However, there is currently no clarity on how long the certificate remains valid or if renewed verification is required after a certain period. It's all quite confusing at the moment."

"We understand that having CCTV cameras and other security measures is essential, but it's equally important to have responsible staff. We send our kids to school, and if the staff cannot be trusted, it only endangers the safety of our children," said a parent of a student at the Badlapur school.