Complaint boxes in Colleges/Schools to resolve students woes

Complaint boxes in Colleges/Schools to resolve students woes

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi July 26, 2014 :   Superintendent of Police Boralingaiah M B told the media, that with a special view to reach out to all students and close the gap if any between police and students, the police department in the district has taken up an exclusive initiative of installing a dedicated complaint and suggestion box in schools and colleges across the Udupi district. This venture, in the preliminary stages and Karkala taluk has been taken up as pilot location to carry out the endeavour.

The plan was designed and executed two months ago and Karkala taluk has been selected as an experimental phase. The plan would cover the entire district in next one and half months if desirable. The schools and colleges that have a higher number of students will be first given priority.

“We have sent information to all colleges, and the feedback from students will be awaited, this will allow also give them the chance to share their problems without coming to the police station. The girls who suffer from the bane of eve teasing and other sorts of harassment  can bring the issues to the notice easily. Names and other identifications are not needed and if at all, the students reveal their identification, it will be kept confidential, necessary and action will be taken to correct matters. The initiative will also help to know the problems encountered by the students. The students can also provide useful information with regard to traffic woes and other kinds of hurdles, we  will look into matters effectively. To start with the complaint and suggestion boxes will be opened by police once in every week. Depending on the response, we will open the boxes more often,” he said. This may in one way help to curtail the increasing crimes and atrocities against girl students. So far 9 complaint and suggestion boxes are installed in schools and colleges in Karkala, the SP added.

Karkala ASP Annamalai, under whom the project is carried out said that initially the schools and colleges that have 1,000 and above students will be the targets. Students could provide much and important information as they are the right sources. The initiative is taken up to help the students who come from far away places and from other states and simultaneously to help the students who come from rural areas. The language barriers, which may be one among several other reasons for the reluctance of the students to approach police, will be eliminated. Checks are  done to understand the genuineness of the complaint and suggestion letters, before taking action.

He said the response has been good and the students not only drop the letters that are concerned to police department, but also drop the letters carrying the issues related to panchayats and other matters. The letters that are received will be dispatched to the panchayats and departments concerned.

He said that the response so far has been encouraging and the principals of many colleges in Karkala are themselves coming forward to install boxes in their colleges and schools. By another two to three weeks, the entire Karkala taluk will be covered.

Currently, the police complaint and suggestion boxes are operating in colleges coming under Nitte Education Trust; Madhwa Engineering College, Bantakallu; Bhuvanendra College, Karkala; MSR College in Shirva; Dandatheertha College in Kaup; and Vidyanikethan School in Kaup, the ASP added. Perhaps this system will be considered by others as well.