Girls to take washroom break in pairs, says Delhi’s north civic body circular

The civic body’s decision comes in the wake of an eight-year-old boy being murdered in a washroom of Ryan International School, Gurgaon.

Girls in North Delhi Municipal Corporation schools will be allowed to use washrooms in pairs only, a new circular by the north civic body read on Thursday.

The civic body’s decision comes in the wake of an eight-year-old boy being murdered in a washroom of Ryan International School, Gurgaon. (Sushil Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“We have asked school principals to send at least two girls to the washroom at a time, so that in case of an emergency, one of them can raise an alarm. The students in primary school (till Class V) are very young and we don’t want them to be left alone anywhere,” said Preety Agarwal, mayor of North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The civic body’s decision comes in the wake of an eight-year-old boy being murdered in a washroom of Ryan International School, Gurgaon.

Experts, however, believe that the new rules should bee applicable for all students, irrespective of their genders. “The initiative is good and has already been implemented by some private schools in Delhi. But seeing the series of incidents reported in the past few days, we think that young boys are equally vulnerable. So the rule should cover them as well,” said SK Bhattacharya, president of School Action Committee, an umbrella body for private schools in Delhi.

The civic agency has also decided to separate the toilets for staff and students so that no adult can use the toilet meant for kids.

The entry of guards and sanitation workers in the school premises should be banned after duty hours and they should not be given any room for living purpose.

“The circular also advices keeping school gates closed, locking classes/areas not being unused, maintaining record of transport vehicles of students and checking all classes before and after closing of school,” said senior North DMC official.

The deputy commissioners of each district will visit schools randomly to ensure all the guidelines are adhered to. “Even I will go and check at least two schools in a week,” said Mayor Agarwal.

The circular, surprisingly, does not mention anything about plans for installing CCTV cameras and posting guards in school premises.