Kerala to Include POSCO Act Awareness in School Curriculum: Government Informed HC
“The awareness of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) would be made part of the school curriculum from the next academic year onwards”, the Kerala State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) informed the Kerala High Court on August 10.
POCSO Act protects children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography and permits Special Courts for trial of such offences and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Kerala could be the first State to do this, appreciated the Court.
The HC was hearing a case that it had kept open to assess and rectify the specific issue of cases being filed against teenagers for unwittingly committing a crime punishable under the POCSO Act, reported the Bar and Bench.
The text books for the purpose would be prepared by experts, giving utmost importance and considering the sensitivity of the topic dealing with, said SCERT to Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas.
The awareness about POCSO will be made part of the curriculum of class I, III, V, VI, VIII, and IX from the academic year 2024-2025. The same will be implemented for standards II, IV, VII and X from the academic year 2025-2026
Once the revision of the curriculum is completed, the State will arrange special workshops for teachers to give necessary instructions.
According to the instruction made by the court in May, a one-day training program was already conducted by the State for teachers on giving POCSO awareness. Around 1,12,000 teachers had attended the training program which was held at various venues across the State, the government informed.
The court also appreciated the efforts taken by the government, KELSA (Kerala State Legal Services Authority), and SCERT for their attempt to implement POCSO awareness in children, even though the move faces severe criticism from various sides.
“SCERT Kerala has taken a very good and progressive step by including POCSO Act in their school curriculum. Other states should also adopt these kind of steps/measures, wrote one user in X (formerly Twitter) appreciating the move.
SCERT Kerala has taken a very good and progressive step by including POCSO Act in their school curriculum. Other states should also adopt these kind of steps/measures, which will aware the children in school.
Thanks to @CMOKerala @CPIMKerala #POCSOAct #POCSO— Rajeev Kumar Sharma (@RajeevK78325493) August 14, 2023
