The Delhi government has announced two major initiatives to improve girls' education and enhance child safety in schools. The Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced that 1.30 lakh eligible Class 9 girl students will now get free bicycles for commuting to school in Delhi and the Delhi Police has initiated a specialised training programme for teachers to enhance child protection mechanisms in schools.
The bicycle scheme, backed by a ₹90 crore allocation, is to ensure that distance and transportation challenges do not become obstacles to education for school-going girls. That is, students with long distance trips to attend government schools will benefit most from the initiative.
Announcing the scheme on its official X account, the Delhi government said: “Around 1.30 lakh eligible girl students of Class 9th will be provided with free bicycles, so that the distance to school does not become a barrier between their studies and dreams. We have allocated ₹90 crore to this scheme. Easy commute, regular school, and a better future."
Officials said the program would help girls attend school more often, lower dropout rates of adolescent girls and assist them to continue to the secondary level. The programme is part of the government’s broader drive to remove a number of practical barriers that are often blocking girls from learning.
As part of this, the Delhi Police has set up a two-day Training of Trainers (ToT) programme for school teachers as part of its Child Safety Month campaign. The programme is held in a hybrid mode at the Aadarsh Auditorium at the Police Headquarters, aimed at giving teachers the knowledge and skills to spot, prevent and respond to child safety issues in schools.
The initiative is jointly conducted by Delhi Police, Directorate of Education and the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT). This programme would be consistent with Lieutenant Governor V. K. Saxena’s vision of strengthening the child protection system and creating safer schools in the capital city.
The training is spread out over four batches, where each batch has attended a half-day session on child safety and preparedness. Teachers are being trained on a number of critical aspects of child protection, including National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) guidelines, school safety protocols, cyber safety awareness and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The programme is to help teachers to recognise the signs of abuse, respond to child protection issues and ensure schools are better prepared to safeguard students.
The two initiatives are in line with the Delhi government's overall focus of improving the educational opportunities for girls and child safety measures in schools in Delhi. The government would like to make sure that the transportation access to schools is addressed and the awareness of educators is raised for the education of students in the capital’s schools more secure, safe as well as more inclusive.
Education experts have long felt that better access to schools and strengthened institutional child protection systems are essential to better educational outcomes. The latest measures will have a positive impact on girls’ school attendance and teachers’ readiness to deal with child safety issues and the government’s commitment to education and student welfare.
