The Nagaland directorate of school education (DoSE) has issued a slew of steps to both government and private schools on preventing child-lifting and kidnapping of students in the state.

The steps include taking head count after every class and advising parents not to upload pictures of their wards on social media as these are constantly monitored by anti-social elements and creating awareness involving police personnel, the state’s directorate of information and publicity said on Thursday.

A Nagaland education department official told The Telegraph that the notification was a kind of “precautionary advisory” following reports of suspected child-lifters roaming the state and children going missing, especially in Dimapur and Kohima areas.

“We don’t have any figure of such cases but a lot of reports of about child-lifters and children going missing have been doing the rounds. Hence, this precautionary advisory. It is a first-of-its-kind step and is quite exhaustive,” the official said.

Last month, the Manipur education department had issued a slew of steps to prevent students from bunking classes and also to ensure their safety within and outside the schools.

Some of the directives issued to the schools:

• Putting a teacher in charge of a section/class to control access of unknown persons to students and check identity and authenticity of every person meeting students in schools. Attendance taken in the first period to be verified by all subject teachers during the subsequent periods.
• If any student found bunking classes, school authorities/teachers should check with parents to know if he/she is absent or missing.
• Parents may be advised to avoid uploading pictures of children on social media as anti-social elements track their activities and accordingly prepare their kidnapping plan.
• Identity of shop-owners near schools should be verified by the school authorities and police/district administration should be informed in there is any suspicion.
• Helpline numbers of local police station/control room shall be displayed in classrooms and prominent places within school premises.
• Regular awareness drive for students, teachers and parents in coordination with the police department.
• CCTVs inside schools and outside school gates may be installed.
• Information should be immediately shared with police if a case of missing children gets reported.
• Child Helpline 1098 should be used immediately when any case of child kidnapping is reported.
• Students should be made aware about preventing kidnappings via movie clips/plays/painting or other competitions/awareness campaigns, among others.
• Students should be taught to rush and seek help from drivers on buses, principals/teachers in schools, parents, nearby churches and ticket checkers on trains, among others. They should also be taught to remember at least two emergency phone numbers and two addresses (parents/favourite teacher) to use in case of any emergency.
• Teaching indirect signals that a child can use to communicate to nearby people to save themselves from persons who pose a danger to them.
• Basic self-defense may be taught in all schools. Instances where self-defence is to be used and where one should resist should also be taught.
• Holding mock drill to teach Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in case a kidnapping case is reported with different scenarios like kidnapping at railway station/bus station/school. Techniques like shouting aloud, “Help Help Help” if anyone suspicious approaches a child in public can be taught in mock drills.

Assistance of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) may be taken to impart awareness to students, parents, teachers, and the public.