Ahmedabad’s city district education office has directed all government, aided, unaided and board-affiliated schools to install a Samvedna Peti and establish a safety mechanism through the Saarthi Suraksha Sankalp — Surakshit Shala, Surakshit Balpan project. The initiative is intended to give students a formal and confidential channel to report problems, seek guidance and receive timely support.
Under the directive, students will be able to submit complaints, suggestions or requests for help in writing through the Samvedna Peti — Saarthi Helpline arrangement. They will not be required to provide their names wherever possible, allowing them to raise concerns without fear or hesitation. Schools will be expected to maintain confidentiality, record submissions appropriately and arrange timely resolution.
The project covers concerns that students may face inside and outside the school environment, including food safety, road safety, cyber safety, campus security, bullying, harassment, discrimination and mental stress. The stated objective is to identify problems early and develop a school culture that gives child safety priority.
The directive also requires each school to form a five-member Saarthi Safety Club. The school principal will chair the club, which will include one male teacher, one female teacher, one boy student representative and one girl student representative. The club will be responsible for helping create a safe school environment and organising safety-awareness activities.
Schools have been instructed to conduct safety-related activities every month. These may include essay writing, drawing, public speaking, plays and mock drills. The activities are intended to build awareness among students and support regular discussion of safety issues within the school community.
The instructions specify that serious child-safety complaints, including physical violence, sexual harassment and risks of self-harm, must be acted upon immediately under applicable law. The report does not identify a separate escalation authority or provide a fixed timeline for resolving routine submissions, but it states that schools must ensure appropriate registration and timely redressal.
The education office’s initiative is being implemented across schools operating under different management and board arrangements in Ahmedabad. This places responsibility for receiving and responding to complaints at the school level while creating a common safety framework across the city’s education system.
More than 300 schools have so far established the Saarthi Suraksha Sankalp initiative, according to the report. The next stage of implementation will depend on schools installing the complaint boxes, forming their safety clubs and conducting the required monthly awareness activities.
