SCPCR to ask Govt to set up guidelines for operation of coaching institutes & hostels
Thursday, 01 September 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) chairperson Dr Geeta Khanna said that the commission will ask the government to set up guidelines for the operation of coaching institutes and hostels. She said this after conducting a surprise inspection of a coaching institute and a women’s hostel situated at Sahastradhara Road area on Wednesday on the basis of a mother’s complaint that her minor daughter was allegedly harassed by a male cook in the hostel. Khanna said that recently a woman had filed a complaint against a male cook of the hostel for allegedly molesting her minor daughter. The daughter used to study in a coaching institute in the Sahastradhara Road area to prepare for competitive exams.
Khanna said that according to the mother, she admitted her daughter in the hostel on the recommendation of the coaching institute’s operator and the hostel operators also assured her that no male lives on the hostel premises but their cook turned out to be a man who allegedly molested her daughter. The mother has also accused the warden and operator of the hostel of pressuring her daughter to suppress the matter, informed Khanna. Taking cognisance of the matter, the SCPCR chairperson inspected the institute and the hostel on Wednesday. She said that the institute owner said that they have a tie-up with the hostel and they do not actually run it.
On inquiring from the hostel operator Savita Pundir about the issue, she said that they had removed the cook after the complaint. On being asked about hiring male staff in a women’s hostel against the rules, the operator said that there are about 50 girls in the hostel and women there could not cook food for so many people due to which they had to hire a male cook. Khanna said that she gave them necessary directions to follow in order to avoid such incidents in the future. The SCPCR head also said that she will also write to the State government to set up guidelines for the operation of such institutes and hostels to ensure the safety of young students.
