Moot court, real grouse

Mohit Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 18

From eve-teasing to the paucity of classrooms and teachers, all such issues were highlighted by students during the first Baal Adalat  (moot court) at Government Senior Secondary School in  Maloya  here today. The event was organised by the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR).

 Puja, a student, highlighted the problem of eve-teasing. She said coming to the school had become a challenge for her and other students due to eve-teasers.

“Boys start chasing us after we leave the school. We fear that if we complain at home, then our parents will stop sending us to the school. Eve-teasing forces us to abandon studies,” complained Puja.

Students acting as judges summoned the school authorities and asked what action had they taken against such anti-social elements.

The school authorities maintained that the police were deployed outside the school to keep the Romeos at bay. Chanchal Singh, who was posing as defence counsel, appealed to the girls to call at 181 helpline in case of any harassment.

However, a student requesting anonymity said they were being teased at the school but due to societal  pressure and the fear of dropping the studies midway, they did not take up the issue.

“Check CCTV recordings of the school, you will know the problems faced by girls,” said a student.   

Unavailability of books

Rahi, a student of Class XII, raised the issue of the unavailability of textbooks in Punjabi. “I hail from Punjab and wanted to read subjects in my mother tongue but the books are available either in Hindi or English,” said Rahi. Defence counsel Chanchal Singh admitted the problem. He said till Class VIII, textbooks had been translated into Punjabi while the translation work for secondary classes was in progress.

Underage driving

• Deeraj, a Class XI student, raised the issue of underage driving. He said many students visited the school on bike and some among them did not even wear helmet. He also raised the issue of the sports room, which has been converted into a medical room. The student also pointed out the lack of teachers.
• The court took a cognisance of the corporal punishment and summoned a teacher. The court asked her  to explain as to why the student was slapped. The CCPCR authorities told the students to report to the school authorities, CCPCR or call at 181 helpline, if subjected to corporal punishment.  

Teachers’ woes

• Gaurav Rana, a student of Class  XI, complained to the court that students passed lewd comments against teachers. This proved to be a trigger for teachers present at the courtroom.
• One after another, they began sharing their experiences. They said many students indulged in indiscipline but they felt helpless as no action could be taken against them. “Such students spoil the environment of the entire classroom and encourage others to indulge in indiscipline,” said a teacher. “Where should teachers lodge a complaint as they are at the receiving end,” quipped another teacher.
• Prof Nishtha Jaiswal, legal adviser of the CCPCR, said the school management and grievance redressal committees had been set up in every school to deal with such issues.
• Harjinder Kaur, chairperson of the CCPCR, said the thought behind holding a the event was to offer children a platform to express their problems. She added that the commission would continue to hold such adalats to spread awareness among students.