Connect with us

Campus Watch

How safe is your child in Shimla schools?

Published

on

safety of kids in shimla schools

Shimla– Recently, parents of a pre-school child, enrolled in one of the most prestigious schools of Shimla, were exposed to the lack of trained counselors despite paying hefty fees.

The socio-economic environment and lifestyle have gone through a tremendous transformation. Children are most vulnerable to mal-adapt under the influence of complexities that came with modernization. Children are now exposed to more information than previous generations did.

In this case, parents narrated a peculiar and highly sensitive problem that required trained child counselors to deal with it appropriately.

The resident family of Shimla was shocked after what the mother discovered about her son. He had hardly spent two years in the pre-school, and from the parent’s perspective, he was in safe hands considering the reputation of the school.

One day, when the child returned home from school and the mother was giving him a bath, she noticed minute scars on his private parts. On taking a careful look, it appeared as teeth marks.

On being asked about it, the child initially showed reluctance in saying anything. However, the mother was able to persuade the child to speak. The child informed that a boy from higher class takes him to the pre-nursery classroom after they are empty and touches his private parts, and even makes him drop his pants sometimes.

The child also recalled a few occasions when he was taken to the bathroom by a boy.

I wasn’t able to believe that my child was facing abuse and bullying inside the premises of such a reputed school. He is just in pre-school. When my child told me the class in which that boy was reading, I received another shock

, told the mother to Himachal Watcher.

The boy, according to the child, was in Class I. It appeared impractical that a boy at such a tender age could intentionally molest another pre-school child.

The parents talked to a classmate of their son who also admitted that an elder boy takes him somewhere during lunch break and even recalled instances where the boy slapped and bullied him.

Parents approached the Principal of the school and narrated the story. Parents demanded CCTV footage as the pre-nursery classrooms had surveillance facility. The principal did show concern.

The boy was sent for, and he admitted practicing said behavior on being inquired.

When asked from where he had learned all this, the boy bewildered everyone by mentioning the name of his elder brother, who is a Class III student in the same school. The boy said his brother does the same with him at home.

The staff and the principle blamed greater exposure to electronic devices and the internet for the situation at hand. Free mobile services like Jio 4G has made it easier for children to access inappropriate content, they said.

When asked whether the school has a specific body to deal with such sensitive matters like child abuse and bullying, the Principal said there is no such facility. He admitted that the school does not have a regular child counselor.

When inquired about activities for children regarding awareness about good touch, bad touch, the principle could refer to one such event, and that for teachers only.

Teachers agreed that these children are too small to experience any psychological impact of it.

According to Ranjana Sharma, an experienced child counselor and a Ph.D. scholar in Psychology,

All three children need the attention of a trained professional. The victim child must be observed to dig out the possible psychological impact related to abnormal behavior he was exposed to.

She also suggested that a counselor needs to make a case study of such cases to find out the root cause behind the development of such behavior. The probability that a child has learned it by being exposed to it should never be ruled out.

Children have a new set of psychological problems now. It’s far easier for children to access to variety of information, even unwanted content, today. This access is difficult to restrict, but children can be guided to channelize it.

Moreover, the academic environment in the age of cutthroat competition is extremely hectic and stressful. This psychological stress is normally neglected while considering increasing cases of drug-addiction among schoolchildren.

Child counseling is a time consuming and very subjective matter related to problems that can’t be measured with any meter. The policy makers need to keep up with the need of the hour and think about making provision of child counselor mandatory for all educational institutes,

she said.

She further insisted that its well-established fact that family background, domestic environment, and treatment of a child in that particular environment plays a pivotal role in shaping the personality and perceptions of a child.

Most schools conduct regular parent-teacher meetings, which could be used as an opportunity for interaction between parents and counselors. It will prove as a huge assistance to teachers who struggle to deal with children with problematic behavior.

Madan has studied English Literature and Journalism from HP University and lives in Shimla. He is an amateur photographer and has been writing on topics ranging from environmental, socio-economic, development programs, education, eco-tourism, eco-friendly lifestyle and to green technologies for over 9 years now. He has an inclination for all things green, wonderful and loves to live in solitude. When not writing, he can be seen wandering, trying to capture the world around him in his DSLR lens.

Campus Watch

Nauni Varsity Scholar Naincy Bags Scholarship to Pursue PhD in France

Published

on

Naincy Sagar uhf nauni scholar

Solan: Naincy Sagar, an alumna of Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni has bagged a fellowship for pursuing PhD from France. Nancy has reached France and will be pursuing PhD in Forest Genetics from the University of Orléans under INRAE fellowship. INRAE is France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Naincy has completed her BSc Forestry from College of Horticulture and Forestry (COH&F), Neri in 2018 and MSc Forest Biology and Tree Improvement and Genetic Resources from UAS, Dharwad, under ICAR’s National Talent Scheme. Before leaving for France last week, Naincy was working as a Junior Research Fellow in a research project at COH&F, Neri.

She had applied for a PhD with a scholarship in Forest Genetics which was advertised by INRAE. Naincy was successful in the interview and was awarded a fellowship for three years for pursuing PhD at the University of Orléans. During the course of the PhD, she will receive a total scholarship of around Rs 70 lakh along with medical reimbursement. Naincy will be working on forest tree larch species in the Project titled ‘Vigour at what cost? ‘Trade-off’ of hybrid vigour in Larch-Phenological, morphological and physiological determinants of hybrid superiority in Larix X eurolepis’ with a team of 20 scientists of Joint Integrated Biology Research Unit having expertise in genetics, genomics and physiology for the enhancement of tree and forest diversity

Dr. Parvinder Kaushal, Vice-Chancellor of the university spoke to Naincy via web conferencing and congratulated her. Dr. Kaushal, who has also done his doctorate from France, shared some tips and suggestions. He asked Naincy to explore this opportunity to learn about new cultures along with doing research that could help to enhance and conserve forest wealth in the future.

Naincy expressed gratitude towards her father Satya Prakash Sagar (Retd. SDO BSNL) and mother Monika Sagar, who is working as SDO in BSNL for their continuous support for higher studies. She also thanked Vice-Chancellor Dr. Parvinder Kaushal, Dean Dr. Kamal Sharma and Dr. Dushyant Sharma, Project Investigator and all the university staff for their support and guidance. The university administration, Dean of COH&F Neri congratulated Naincy and wished her success.  

Continue Reading

Campus Watch

HP University Extends College Admission Date for 2021-22 Session Till Oct 25

Published

on

hpu college admissions 2021-22 dates

Shimla-Dates for admissions to undergraduate courses for the session 2021-22 in colleges affiliated to Himachal Pradesh University has been extended, which has come as a relief to not only those students who were seeking fresh enrollments in the first year but also to the students of the second and third year. 

The varsity informed that the decision was taken after considering requests received from various students regarding the same.  

Now, willing students can apply for enrollment in both government and private colleges till 5 PM, October 25, 2021.

This extension of date would benefit students who recently passed supplementary exams or those students of the second and third-year who had missed admission due to delay in declaration of their previous results.

Continue Reading

Campus Watch

UHF Nauni Extends Admission Dates for UG, PG, PhD Till Oct 18

Published

on

uhf nauni admissions 2021 dates

Solan– Dr. YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry (UHF), Nauni, has extended the last date for applying to various Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral programmes in Horticulture, Forestry, Biotechnology, Agribusiness and Business Management. Applicants can submit their complete online application on the university’s admission portal till 18th October.

The normal seats of BSc (Hons) Horticulture, BSc (Hons) Forestry and B Tech Biotechnology will be filled on the basis of scorecard of ICAR-AIEEA (UG) 2021.

Admissions to MSc, MBA (Agribusiness) and PhD (for normal and self-financing seats) will also be conducted on the scorecard of ICAR AIEEA (PG) and AICE-JRF/SRF respectively. Students who have appeared in the ICAR-AIEEA 2021 for UG and PG, or AICE-JRF/SRF examination and are interested in seeking admission, such students must fill the university online application form before 18th October. Undergraduate aspirants who have not appeared in the ICAR test can however apply for the self-financing seats for B Sc and B Tech Biotechnology programmes run by the university by filling the online application on the university website.

The university has also advised the registered candidates to submit complete online application forms along with online payment acknowledgement slip before the due date. The schedule for online counselling will be announced by the University on the website after the declaration of the ICAR examination result. Application forms other than online mode will not be accepted.

Continue Reading

Trending