CCTVs mandatory in Bengal girls'schools

Kolkata, Sep 9 (IANS) The West Bengal education department has decided to make CCTV cameras compulsory at all girls’ schools, state-run or private, in the state.
A notification on this count might be issued by the state government soon, a top official from department said.

The West Bengal government has been prompted to take a decision on this count following two recent developments.

The first is the August 10 ragging-death of a fresher at the Jadavpur University (JU) and the second in the recent revelation about the rape of two minor girls at a girls’ orphanage in the southern outskirts of Kolkata.

While the state government will bear the expenditure of installing CCTV cameras in the state-run girls’ school, the private schools will have to install the same by spending money from their own coffers.

However, any final decision on this count, will be binding on all girls’ schools, state-run or private.

After the girls’ school, said the official of the state education department, the same might be compulsory for all the girls’ colleges in the state.

After the fresher’s death at JU, the university authorities faced widespread criticism for the absence of CCTV cameras within the campus.

In wake of these criticisms, the JU authorities have finally decided to install 26 artificial intelligence (AI)- enabled CCTV cameras at different corners of the university campus.

Similarly, after the incident of prolonged sexual harassment of two minor girls at the orphanage which lead to arrest of three officials of the home, it was noticed that there was no CCTV camera installed.

“The state government now also has decided to step in to make CCTV compulsory and the decision to install the same at all girls’ schools is the first step in this direction,” the education department official said.