Citing the State’s ‘Surakshit School Vahan Policy’, the Haryana Human Rights Commission has ordered regular inspections of all school buses to ensure CCTV cameras are installed, functional and recording, and that footage is securely preserved. 

The directions came during the hearing of a suo motu case involving Prabhat Senior Secondary School in Chhachera village of Nuh district. The Commission had taken cognisance of allegations that a Class 3 student was brutally beaten by a teacher on August 14 last year for failing to solve a question on the blackboard. The assault allegedly left the child with injuries on the neck, back and other parts of the body. 

Observing that schools have a “non-delegable duty” to ensure student safety on campus as well as during transport, the Commission said the safety of schoolchildren was a shared responsibility of educational institutions and the administration. 

“CCTV cameras installed in school buses can play a significant role in monitoring and preventing student-on-student violence, misconduct or negligence,” the order stated. 

The Commission said installation and regular monitoring of CCTV cameras in all vehicles transporting schoolchildren is mandatory under directions issued by the Haryana Transport Department and the Transport Commissioner. 

Assistant Registrar Dr. Puneet Arora said the Commission had also directed all district- and sub-divisional-level committees, comprising Deputy Commissioners, Commissioners of Police, District Education Officers, Road Transport Authority representatives and Haryana Roadways General Managers, to conduct periodic inspections of school buses in their jurisdictions. 

The committees have been asked to verify the installation and functioning of CCTV cameras, ensure preservation of recordings, and confirm that the entire vehicle remains under surveillance. They must submit compliance reports at least a week before the next hearing on July 30.