No more co-education at tuition classes; Cops in civvies to monitor student movement

By: M Hyderi
Srinagar, Nov 23: Following frequent complaints of eve-teasing and alleged waywardness outside coaching centres, the police Wednesday woke up to check the menace with its social policing Mantra as the Khaki force framed a “code of conduct” so that not only separate classes are held for boys and girls but that precautionary measures too remain in place to “uphold the social fabric” of this Muslim dominated society.
The enforcement of the “do's and don'ts” will start right from some south City areas, the hub of coaching centres in the summer capital, where thousands of students mostly teenagers, go for private classes.
THE MEETING
The “dos and don’ts” were decided amicably following talks between cops and the people running coaching centres.
Officials said in the wake of growing public resentment over the mess, the police today called a meeting with coaching centres running in areas like Parray Pora, Barzulla, Raj Bagh and Jawahir Nagar.
The meeting which was chaired by Sub Division Police Officer, Shabir Ahmed Shah was attended by heads of around a dozen odd centres including Aristotle School of Biology, Affluent Institute of Physics, Vibrant School of Chemistry, Parray Pora Coaching Centre, NIET, Horizon IT and Marathon Institute while the SHOs of Raj Bagh and Sadder Police Station were also present.
Insiders said the two parties agreed that the teaching services couldn’t be streamlined until co-education at coaching centres is ended and parent community asked to “play its role responsibly.”
THE RESOLUTION
After a marathon meeting, which spanned over two sittings this week, the following was resolved:
Separate classes will be held for boys and girls students. Insiders said the coaching centres suggested that it would be feasible to conduct the classes for girls in the morning session and the ones for boys in the afternoons.
Given the complaints of overcrowding at the coaching centres as some host over 200 students at a time, the institutions were directed not to accommodate students beyond their capacity.
Over the issue of driving of vehicles by minors, the meeting resolved that the parents would be asked to discourage their wards driving bikes or vehicles to coaching centres.
“Some responsibility has to be leveled on the parents as well because its mostly because of their undue pampering that children get spoiled,” a coaching centre owner said.
To check that no student trespasses his or her class timings, the coaching centres will have to issue fresh I-Cards with timings of each student specified individually.
This, as per insiders, was decided to keep a check on the movement of students. “If any of the students is found roaming around at the odd timings, he or she will be taken to task,” said a police official.
Besides, the cops in civvies will monitor the movement of students while the coaching centres too will have to provide some volunteers to further streamline the system.
THE DEADLY TALES
Pertinently apart from complaints of eve-teasing, two years back, a teenage student Romana Javed was crushed to death by two car borne eve-teasers. Complaints of reckless driving have also been pouring in while just last year a NIT student Aatif Mudabir Dar died on the Airport Road when his car was hit by a speeding sedan driven by a student who was often allegedly seen roaming outside coaching centres in the plush area.
The situation, as per the complainants, had turned so grave that many parents would escort their girl wards to coaching centres. “Things have gone so worse that I pick and drop my daughter to coaching centre,” said HF Hussain, a parent of a higher secondary student.
A coaching centre owner pleading anonymity admitted that “things were going out of their hands.” “How could we intervene if something unfortunate was happening on roadside?” he argued adding police role was a “long pending requirement.”
Sources said, such complaints had come to the notice of Inspector General of Police Shiv Morari Sahai who directed the City police to take “requisite measures to check the menace.”
OFFICIALS SPEAK
When contacted SDPO Sadder, Shabir Ahmed Shah confirmed the development and said the “dos and don’ts” would be strictly adhered to even as he asked the parents to play a “more serious and responsible role in the upbringing of their children particularly when they are in the teens.”
While admitting the complaints had been pouring in quite frequently, the official said, streamlining the coaching centres was the “first step”. “We will soon start meetings with Mohalla and Masjid Intizaamiyas and see what role they can play,” Shah told Greater Kashmir.
To a question on monitoring, he said the City Police Chief Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari has assured that Flying Squads would constantly keep zooming past the streets where coaching centres are housed.
-GKNN