The Navi Mumbai police have directed educational institutions to conduct a third-party audit of their premises to ensure the safety and security of students, an official said on Tuesday.

Officials of Zone-I of the Navi Mumbai police held a crucial meeting with heads of educational institutions within their jurisdiction on Monday, providing detailed guidelines for the mandated audit.

Talking to reporters, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Zone-I Pankaj Dahane said principals, headmasters, and management personnel representing 149 educational institutions attended the crucial meeting.

The sole agenda of the session was to address and fortify the safety and security framework for students, he said.

During the meeting, a thorough review was conducted of the existing safety and security protocols implemented by the educational institutions, with a particular focus on measures aimed at preventing sexual abuse of children, the official said.

The school managements were strongly instructed to ensure seamless coordination between their committees and the local police. Furthermore, they were directed to strictly adhere to the safety guidelines issued by the state government.

A key directive issued during the meeting was for the management of schools to submit a compliance report of the mandated third-party safety audits to their local police stations.

The official said the educational institutions have been given a strict one-month deadline to complete the third-party audit and submit the compliance report to the local police.

“If they encounter any challenges in conducting this audit through a third party, the police are readily available to provide all necessary assistance and guidance. This can be facilitated in close coordination with the local school management committee, teachers, and representatives of both teaching and non-teaching staff,” he said.

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