Taking a tough stand on sexual abuse of schoolchildren, the central board of secondary education (CBSE) has asked all schools to set up toll-free helpline for children facing sexual exploitation.

In a circular to all affiliated schools released Tuesday, the board said a lot of awareness is to be created to tackle the issue of gender inequality, eve teasing and sexual abuse in school.

The board also asked all schools to start guidance and counselling sessions on adolescent related issues.

It has also asked the schools to form a complaints committee which should function as a complaints and grievance cell to take immediate action on reported cases of misbehaviour. Schools are also asked to install a suggestion/complaint box for students so that they can make written complaints about sexual abuse.

Provision for CCTV cameras should be made in school premises at all strategic places along with the warning, it said.

According to the national crime records bureau (NCRB) data, as many as 58,224 incidents of crime against children were reported in 2013. Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra were the top four states having more than 6,000 incidents. In Uttar Pradesh alone, as many as 9,857 cases occurred in 2013.

Apart from safety measures, the CBSE also emphasised on awareness and empowerment programmes for girls. It also called for camps for sensitisation on health and sanitation issues, karate/self-defence training of female students along with programmes like folk dance, nukkad natak, poster competitions, quiz, debate, and exhibitions on gender equality. Training programmes and in-house induction of teachers on gender sensitivity and adolescent issues are also some of the measures that the board suggested to all schools to tackle sexual exploitation of children in schools.