PANAJI
Taking cognisance of complaints by parents about unsafe access to the Cujira Super School Complex, the Goa State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (GSCPCR) has decided to inspect the site on December 17 at 10 am and has instructed the director of Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC) to be present during the inspection.
In their complaint, the aggrieved parents had enclosed a report in The Goan on December 10, highlighting that the poorly maintained subway at Bambolim had made it difficult for motorists travelling to the Super School Complex in Cujira.
In a letter to the GSIDC director, Chairperson of GSCPCR Peter Borges stated that the Commission had received a complaint from students studying in the Cujira Super School Complex, highlighting grave dangers to around 6,500 children.
“The Commission has examined this complaint and has taken cognisance of the same. “School Safety” is creating safe environment for children, starting from their homes to their schools and back.”
“Children cannot be compelled to receive education from an unsound and unsafe access to the school building. They have constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights to have access to education in an environment that is safe, protective and conducive to growth and development,” stated Borges.
The GSIDC director has been requested to remain present during the visit of the Chairperson of GSCPCR on December 17 at 10 am.
In The Goan report, the parents had complained that the Bambolim subway is full of large potholes and to make matter worse, frequently gets waterlogged during rains leaving unsuspecting motorists unaware of the potholes.
With three major schools and a higher secondary school at the Cujira Super School Complex, the area witnesses peak traffic in the morning and afternoon, posing a threat to students, parents, teachers and residents in the area.
The parents claimed there are almost 6,500 students studying at the Cujira Super School Complex and while only classes from Std 7 to 10 are being conducted in a physical/offline mode, traffic problems are expected to surge when all classes resume in schools in the near future.
Some parents had appealed to the GSCPCR to take cognisance of this problem and intervene in the matter in the interest of safety of students.
According to sources, the traffic department has proposed a one-way route for the subway in a bid to tackle the problem, but nothing has moved so far.
