Safety of children should be top priority of schools, society: Priya Sethi

Sports meet concludes in Srinagar

SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 20: Minister of State for Education, Technical Education, Culture and Tourism Priya Sethi today said that safety of children should be prime concern of all schools where they spend considerable time of their day but at the same time society as a whole including parents, neighbors, friends and family must also give children a safe and clean atmosphere for their overall growth.

Priya Sethi was speaking at a function organized at the conclusion of 2-day inter-school kids' meet by Hussaini Sports Club in Harvard School, Habak Naseem Bagh here today. Giving reference of Gurgaon's Ryan International School where seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur was brutally murdered, Priya Sethi said such incidents are condemnable but at the same time put us all on tenterhooks to carry out safety audit of our institutions. Safety of children in buses, school premises, parks, playgrounds or public places should be prime concern.

Appreciating Hussaini Sports Club for organizing sports meet, Priya Sethi said that such events help children display their talent, adopt competitive spirit, learn discipline and most importantly participate in sports activities which bring health benefits for them. Since children now days stay indoors such activities must be organized to make them step out of their homes and mingle with other children for developing their physical and emotional strength.

The Minister suggested that all institutions without any delay must carry out safety audits of their individual schools so that safety of children is not compromised. The government, she said, is doing its best to provide better and quality education to students in those areas where private institutions haven't reached besides facilities and infrastructure in these institutions is regularly being upgraded for the convenience of children.

Giving reference of Tajamul Islam, Kick Boxing Star who won Gold Medal at World Kick Boxing Championship, she hoped that more such players will shine in international arenas and bring laurels for our state. She said that J&K now has all facilities that are needed for practice, adding that even if there are some shortcomings that are consistently being worked on, but players must maintain consistency in their practices.

Earlier, on the first day girls of age group 5- 8 participated in different sports events. Fifteen different schools including Kashmir Harvard School, Green Valley educational institute, Hat trick public school, Oak Hill School and other institutions participated in different categories events and displayed their talent. Different events including tug of war, sack race, lemon spoon race, sprint race and relay race were part of the annual sports meet.

Later, Priya Sethi who was the chief Guest on the occasion distributed prizes amongst winners of different events. Chairman Kashmir Harvard School Tariq Ahmed, Principal Kashmir Harvard School Irfaana Yousuf, Chairman Hussaini sports club Tariq Ahmed were guest of honour at the event.