PNS | DEHRADUN
The chairwoman of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) Geeta Khanna emphasised the importance of the Education department in monitoring and conducting physical verification of schools across the State to ascertain the presence of psychologists, as mandated by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. She noted that during inspections of various schools, the commission has found that many do not have a psychologist on their premises. Further, some schools that do have psychologists often assign them additional administrative duties instead of allowing them to perform their primary role.
Khanna reiterated that, according to the norms, it is mandatory for each school to have at least one psychologist on campus. The psychologist can help address the mental health needs of students and resolve many other issues they may face. The SCPCR chief further said that she has written multiple letters to the Education department, urging them to inspect schools without psychologists and take appropriate action against them as per the rules. She emphasised that the Education department should monitor the schools to ascertain that the psychologists are appointed as per the NEP- 2020. Additionally, the department should take action against those schools which are not adhering to the norms regarding the psychologist, she said.
It will be recalled that Khanna recently sent a letter to the district magistrates of all districts in the State, calling for inspections to address the exploitation reportedly occurring in pre-primary schools and other child-related institutions. Apart from this, she instructed officials to ensure that Madarsas are registered and that illegal Madarsas or those built on private land undergo inspection.
