TN government plans fresh initiatives to ensure safety in higher educational institutions

Tamil Nadu government partners with UNESCO to enhance women safety in higher education institutions, starting with Anna University and University of Madras.

The Tamil Nadu government is planning to rope in UNESCO for addressing the women safety, counselling, and sensitisation processes in higher educational institutions in the State. It has chosen Anna university and the University of Madras to start with.

Minister for Higher Education Govi. Chezhiaan chaired a meeting in the Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday with the participation of Registrars of 13 State-run universities.

A senior official said the agenda of the meeting was on the safety and security issues in the college and university campuses in general and women safety in particular. “Measures include regulating the access points, minimising the multiple access points, visitor passes, identification cards, communication systems, were discussed,” the official said.

Third-party audit of existing security and safety protocols, activating response systems, illuminating the dark or blind spots, expanding the CCTV coverage, campus patrolling by campus security personnel, etc., were also among the issues discussed.

“It is well-known that on the directions of the Chief Minister, prompt actions have been taken over the untoward incident in Anna University. Precautionary measures have been initiated to prevent recurring of such incidents in any educational institution,” an official release issued about the meeting, said.

The Minister instructed officials to ensure training and capacity building for students on women safety issues and underlined the need for disseminating information such as helpline numbers, help desks, ‘Kaavalan’ mobile-based applications, among others.