Kerala High Court Pulls Up State For Not Including Prevention-Oriented Programme On Sexual Abuse In School Curriculum

Kerala High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the State for not taking measures to include prevention-oriented programmes on sexual abuse as part of school curriculum. In this regard the court ordered the heads of the expert committee formed by the state to be present before the court on 27.02.2023.

“the Director General of Education and the Additional Director of Education, who are the Chairman and Convenor respectively of the alleged Committee formed by the State Government shall appear before this Court on 27.02.2023 at 10.15 a.m., to explain the details of the Committee meetings and the measures taken by them in those alleged Committee meetings. “

Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas expressed his anguish at the misleading reports of the expert committee of eight members chaired by the Director General of Education that has been constituted to implement the directions of the court for creating a prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse in schools. The committee was formed pursuant to the directions of the court on 09.12.2022.

The expert committee submitted two reports, dated 17.02.2023 and 21.02.2023. Both reports refer to various measures suggested by the expert committee for implementation of the programme. The second report also states that various focus groups have been formed to facilitate the revision of the school curriculum.

However, the counsel for KELSA (Kerala State Legal Services Authority) Adv. Parvathy Menon, submitted that the Committee had not held any meetings so far. The counsel also submitted that one of the members of the Committee, Adv. J. Sandhya, had not been intimated of any meeting conducted by the committee. The court said that if the submissions made by the counsel are correct then:

it is an unpardonable state of affairs, practically amounting to defiling the orders of this Court and even misleading this Court by stating in the report dated 17.02.2023 that “the Committee has suggested measures”

The Court in August 2022 had directed for the constitution of a Committee of Experts by the State of Kerala and the CBSE to identify the mode and methodology for imparting an age-appropriate prevention-oriented programme on sexual abuse.

The court had expressed its anguish at the alarming rise in the number of sexual offences committed on school children and noticing that, in many instances, the perpetrators themselves were students, observed that the voice of the victims of sexual abuse should not be suppressed, and it is only through education that the victim can be empowered to speak out.

Even though the matter came before the court in relation to a bail application, taking a cue from the adage "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", the Court invoked its jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution for issuing directions to the State Government and CBSE, saying there is a lack of awareness among the youngsters on the consequences of sexual offences and their ramifications.

Case Title: Anoop V State of Kerala

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