MCD issues 30 directives to improve security at Delhi schools

Nearly two weeks after a 10-year-old girl was lured out of a Municipal Corporation of Delhi school by a peon and then gang-raped by him and at least three others, the education department of the civic body has issued a series of directions to improve the security of the 15,25 municipal primary schools under its jurisdiction.

The 30-point directions include the bolting of the school’s main gate, a visitor’s register, fixing times for teachers to leave the school premises, keeping a record of vehicles dropping children to the school, and ensuring that children are not sent to the toilet alone. The education department has also directed that no street vendors should be allowed to operate near schools.

“All the staff members should be present in their premises 15 minutes before the official hours and they should leave 15 minutes after the school closure. A record of everyone entering the school premises must be kept, and during the lunch break, one teacher should be deputed to monitor the children,” the order issued by the additional director (education) on March 24 said.

Also Read| Delhi girl raped: Security lapses in civic schools were flagged in 2019

“It must be ensured that no student leaves the premises with anyone without the consent of the parents,” the order said.

The order also includes guidelines on general safety, the repair of school premises, and the use of mobiles by teachers.

An MCD official said that school inspectors and senior officials from the education department will be undertaking random inspections of schools to ensure that the directions are being implemented on the ground.

The moves come after the Delhi Police on March 23 announced that it had arrested Ajay Kumar, a peon at an MCD school in east Delhi for allegedly sedating, abducting and raping the 10-year-old girl with three yet-to-be identified accomplices. The girl, a class 5 student, was assaulted on March 14, officials said, describing her condition as “severely traumatised”.

Mayor Shelly Oberoi on March 25 said that the civic body will also undertake a sensitisation programme for school employees to prevent the recurrence of such an incident.

“The incident of rape with an MCD student is sad and strict action is being taken. We have taken reports on the matter from zonal employees and they have been directed to provide all possible help to the family. We are committed to improving the security of the schools under MCD. Soon, we will sensitise the employees to prevent any recurrence of such incidents in future,” she said.

In May 2019, the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) had highlighted that the Capital’s corporation-run schools do not have guards, and had issued a show cause notice to the three erstwhile civic bodies, calling the lack of security guards “a matter of serious concern”.

The MCD has in the past cited a lack of funds or unavailability of sanctioned posts for guards as the reason behind the lack of security measures at their schools.

HT had on May 7, 2022 and last week, on March 24, reported that two out of three MCD schools lack CCTV cameras.

Vibha Singh, the principal of a municipal school and senior vice-president of the Municipal Teachers’ Association, said many of these steps are already in place, while others are impractical.

“School principals are already taking most of these precautions. Teachers are being asked to not use mobile phones, but the attendance is taken using mobiles. A few of these guidelines are impractical. The main focus of the administration should be to ensure that security guards are deployed, attendants are provided to schools, and CCTV cameras are installed so that teachers can look after the premises from their offices. These are systemic issues being faced by the corporation schools,” she said.

Educationist Meeta Sengupta said there is an urgent need to introduce the buddy system in schools, where students are taught to keep track of each other to increase overall safely. “A practice that is being adopted in a lot of schools is where children are asked to be in groups of three, and if any of the three is missing for more than five minutes, then the other two inform a teacher,” she said.

She also called for active monitoring of CCTV footage.