The expressions of parents waiting outside educational institutions say it all – they are concerned over the safety of children during school hours.
After the tragic incident in a Gurgaon school, a number of principals in Lucknow are taking measures to boost the confidence of parents by scheduling meetings with them.
“As part of immediate steps, all classrooms and toilets will be locked within 15 minutes of the school getting over. The staff will remain on the campus till all children leave,” said Aashrita Dass, principal, La Martiniere Girls’ College, in a WhatsApp message to parents.
“All support staff have been asked to be more vigilant. We request you to please talk to your daughters and advise them not to talk to strangers, not go alone anywhere and follow the rules of the college,” her message reads.
{{/usCountry}}“All support staff have been asked to be more vigilant. We request you to please talk to your daughters and advise them not to talk to strangers, not go alone anywhere and follow the rules of the college,” her message reads.
{{/usCountry}}Jagdish Gandhi, founder manager, City Montessori School (CMS), said, “CMS puts child safety first, by having safety procedures and practices in place. Teachers patrol the corridors during recess time and also see-off children at dispersal time when they board their buses, vans and rickshaws.”
“Caretakers, nodal officers, drivers and conductors are all trained from time to time, in implementing security protocols. We have firewalls in place to restrict Internet use exclusively for educational purposes. We have separate people for fire safety, school transport safety, electrical safety and for safety-related training. We are also in the process of making our school’s social-media policy,” he said.
“We are answerable and need to develop systems and processes to keep a check on what goes on in our institution on a daily basis. Strict action on complaints about misconduct of support staff is imperative even if it means hiring additional staff to do this,” said Taru Saxena, manager, St Anjani’s Public School (Rajajipuram).
On the other hand, parents say schools should to take full responsibility of children’s safety because they pay hefty fees for their child’s education.
“Child safety should not be delegated to security agencies or contractors. It is important for administrative staff to be involved in a continuous dialogue with children about issues being faced by them,” said Ankur Gupta whose child goes to an English medium school in Hazratganj.
SAFETY MEASURES SUGGESTED BY GURUGRAM COPS
IN AND OUT TIME
A record of all staff reporting for duty must be maintained. Be it electronic swiping or by signing a register, both in and out times must be recorded.
Contract staff must also sign their in and out times.
Daily attendance of students will be recorded through the class teachers at the beginning of each day.
REGISTER FOR VISITORS
A separate register must be maintained for visitors or parents, including the name of the visitor, address, telephone no, purpose and person being met, in and out time, signature.
A visitor pass is to be given, and signed by the person who has been met; it should be handed back at the gate on exit and tallied every two hours to ensure that all visitors have left the premises. A specific check at the end of the day should likewise be made.
VALID IDENTITY
Every person on the premises should have a valid identity card or a visitor pass.
HEIGHT OF WALLS
Walls around the school must be high enough to prevent any scaling; schools with lower walls must increase height of wall as decided in consultation with School Safety Committee.
ACCESS TO AREAS
Access to areas like bus area, gym, swimming pools, sports rooms/fields, canteen and toilets should be confined to persons whose presence in the area is required.