Admn orders action against ‘unsafe’ playschools in Sirsa

The Sirsa administration has ordered strict action against private playschools that fail to meet safety and operational standards, warning that non-compliant institutions may be sealed.

Inspection teams have been instructed to visit schools and verify every requirement to eliminate the risk of accidents.

The directions were issued by Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Virender Sahrawat during a review meeting on women and child development programmes at the Mini-Secretariat on Tuesday. The meeting covered the Poshan Abhiyan, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, private playschools, combined anganwadi–playschool centres, One-Stop Centre, child marriage prevention efforts, POCSO Act, District Child Protection Unit and Child Welfare Committee.

Officials reported that Sirsa district has 162 private playschools, all of which have been inspected. Deficiencies were found in 37 schools and notices issued. The administration instructed teams to act immediately against any school that continues to flout norms and file a detailed report.

Officials were also told to fix shortcomings, if any, in 98 combined anganwadi–playschool centres being run in the district.

The progress on constructing a new building for the One-Stop Centre was reviewed and officials were asked to speed up land identification.

Under the Poshan Abhiyan, 40,000 women and children in the district are registered, and 90% of their photo-linked data has been uploaded. Officers were asked to complete the remaining work quickly and ensure that nutrition awareness reaches every household, particularly pregnant women, lactating mothers and adolescent girls. Continuous monitoring of nutrition-related activities was also stressed.

The administration also called for strong public awareness to prevent child marriage and directed the Education Department to work jointly with the Women and Child Development Department to spread information on the POCSO provisions.

Notably on 1 July, a four-year-old child had died at a playschool at Mamera Kalan village in Ellenabad. The Tribune had reported the incident extensively, prompting the Punjab and Haryana High Court to take suo motu notice and seek a response from the state government. The matter is currently pending before the court.

DSP Sanjeev Kumar, DDPO Baljit Singh, District Child Protection Officer Poonam Nagpal, DCPO Dr Gurpreet Kaur, CWC Chairperson Madan Lal, member Bhavna Sharma, Protection Officer Anjana Dudi, Block Education Officers and anganwadi supervisors attended the meeting.