Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has directed schools to keep a complaint box in which students and parents can put in their grievances regarding corporal punishment, officials said on Wednesday.

Nearly 16,000 schools across the state are getting ready to comply with the order.

"The move has been taken by the state government in order to check harassment and victimisation of schoolchildren," Santwana Tiwari, district inspector of schools (DIOS), Lucknow, told sourcses.

"The schools have been directed to set up a complaint box from this academic session. We will soon start surprise inspections to ensure schools follow the government's directives. Action would be taken against the erring schools," she added.

Senior officials of the education department have been authorised to open the complaint box after a gap of 30 days and take necessary action.

The Secondary Education Teachers' Association (SETA) hailed the government's move.

"The move by the government would facilitate protection of child's rights in schools,'' said SETA spokesperson R.P. Mishra. IANS