Schools have asked guards to be vigilant and leave only after children have left. Some schools have restricted the entry of private drivers, and gone for verification of their staff
Recent cases of crimes against students have forced schools in Delhi-NCR to tighten security, but quite a few institutions remain a potential threat, a reality check by DNA has revealed.
Schools have asked guards to be vigilant and leave only after children have left. Some schools have restricted the entry of private drivers, and gone for verification of their staff.
Delhi Public School in Noida has activated its Door Frame Metal Detectors. Security personnel are strict in asking questions, frisking visitors and making verification calls. Teachers check on kids during their dispersal. After-school activities are happening but with tight security. Only parents can pick up children. Entry and exit from a single gate is there to avoid confusion.
Similar arrangements were seen at Vishwa Bharati Public School, Noida, where all gates are closed. Earlier, one gate was always open. Guards have been given instructions to ask for visitors’ details before letting them in if needed. Every minute detail is checked with teachers.
At the Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School in South Delhi’s Chhattarpur, security during school hours looks fine. However, the situation changes quickly after school hours. Now, anyone can go in and come out, no questions asked. Animals can also be seen roaming around freely.
Liquor shops and tobacco kiosks can easily be spotted near some schools. Amity International School in South Delhi’s Saket has a liquor shop just 100 metres away. Similarly, two liquor shops at Ganga Shopping Complex in Noida are not far from schools such as Vishwa Bharati Public School, Army Public School and Lord Mahavira School.
Locals claim that some students in uniform are spotted sipping beer, trying to hide their school badges. “There is a wine shop at the entrance to the market. There are many tobacco kiosks, too. The beer shop has moved towards the back. When cops patrol the main road, they cannot see what children are up to,” says Pradeep Kumar, a shopper at the market.
Hundreds of protesters set ablaze a liquor shop near Ryan International School in Gurugram, two days after a 7-year-old child was brutally murdered in a campus toilet by a bus attendant who also tried to sexually assault him. Protesters alleged that drivers and conductors often had liquor from the shop and could use toilets meant for students. Locals also said the school playground, which has no boundary wall, opens right in front of the liquor shop. This, they said, had made the playground a den of criminals.
“We are in shock post what happened in Gurugram. The first thought was, this could happen to our children as well. We trusted the school when we dropped our kids there. Now, you stay scared till they’re back home,” says Bhavna Malik, mother of two who study at a prominent school in Noida. The toilets and the water cooler at Dakshini Dilli Nagar Nigam Pratibha Vidyalaya in Saket’s G block is open to auto-rickshaw drivers and locals. This correspondent has an easy entry. A woman does ask the purpose of the visit, but only later on.
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