Farhan Akhtar: If Children are not safe in ‘posh’ schools, where are They Safe?

Bollywood expresses shock at the murder of 7-year old child at a posh school (Ryan school) in Gurgaon close to Delhi. Urge employers to cross-check credentials of people before employing them.

“I am numbed. Words fail me. We speak about crime and then move on. This is the mistake that we make and this is what encourages crime. You say people like us are empowered and privileged and therefore relatively safe.I disagree with you. Because when my children go to school their parents are not with them. They are as vulnerable as any other child from any section of society. It is therefore the school’s responsibility to ensure their safety. I think the school administration has failed not just the child but also proved how damaged our system is,” says Farhan Akhtar.

“To save some money you employ dubious people to look after homes and schools. What could be more careless and irresponsible than that?How do we know that the watchman employed to protect our homes or the bus conductor employed to drive children to school is trustworthy?” asks Farhan.

The incident seems have to affected Farhan a lot, who says he may not be able to play an anti-social on the big screen.

“Maybe some years ago when crime was not so brutal barbaric…unthinking. Now….I doubt I will ever play a serial killer, rapist or a child molester just because it would challenge me as an actor. What about the much greater challenge that face as nation to protect our vulnerable sections? We who have a voice​ must think twice before using that voice.

TV and Bollywood actress Renuka Shahane also wrote a soul shaking post:

“Totally shocked, horrified, dismayed by the brutal murder of a seven year old child at the Ryan International School, Gurugram & a rape of a three year old by a peon in another school in the national capital.
How do we make things safe for our kids? Parents drop their kids to school with the trust that our kids will be safe, protected within these walls of learning. But incident after incident points to laxity about the security of our kids despite the high fees in many “International” schools.

In the case of the Gurugram murder there were so many breaches of security.
1) That the bus conductor or driver were allowed to use the same washroom as the kids.
2) The accused was allowed to carry a knife inside the school.
3) There was no female attendant from the school outside the washroom.
4) When the child screamed there was no one to help immediately.
5) The school management tried to cover up the crime
6) There was a huge breach in the school wall; no doubt a huge risk to the security of the school

All these red flags beg the question whether the trustees, management & Principal of this school should be trusted with the running of a school at all!

Today I read that the accused in the case was a driver at another school just a few metres away from this one and was kicked out after complaints by parents about misdemeanors with their kids. That school suspended his services but refused to make a police complaint. Their refusal to make a complaint must have emboldened the accused.
Not complaining emboldens serial sexual offenders & jeopardizes the lives of innocent children in the perpetrator’s next job!

All of us parents should come together to demand a list of criminals with past cases of misdemeanors against kids circulated in each & every school of our country, both Govt & Private, so that no sexual predator bus driver, conductor, attendant, peon, coach, teacher, principal or trustee with a criminal complaint about child physical or sexual abuse comes within a mile of a job dealing with kids.

This list should also be put up on the site of the Ministry of Human Resource Development as well as the Education Dept sites of each and every State so that parents & schools have access to the list.

We have to stop making it so easy for sexual predators to get away with crimes.

We have to make the Trustees of this school accountable for criminal neglect in playing with safety of the children enrolled in their school.

The school Principal is suspended but what about the Trustees or Chairperson?

Unless a very strong case is made out against them too other schools will not take this issue seriously.
A fervent appeal to all schools; please do not cut corners while appointing staff or bus service. Sexual abuse scars children for ever and a murder as foul as the innocent 7 year old’s in Gurugram leaves the parents with a life full of pain & utter devastation!

Meanwhile after Gorakhpur, 55 infants die in Nashik over a period of a month because of a lack of infrastructure????????????

Sometimes I just feel it’s time for us humans to be destroyed.”