Panjim schools advised to have armed security guards

TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Panjim police have suggested that all school managements in the capital city appoint armed security guards to provide security to their campuses and compulsorily comply with safety directions issued by the education department.
The preventive measure is in the backdrop of Peshawar (Pakistan) school massacre where Taliban terrorists killed nearly 150 people, mostly children recently.  
During a meeting with the representatives of 22 out of 36 schools at police headquarters on Saturday, police inspector Rajendra Prabhudesai highlighted the need to have appropriate security measures in place to protect school property and ensure a safe and secure environment for staff and students.
The meeting was held following a circular issued by Inspector General of Police Sunil Garg asking all the police stations to ensure that educational institutions comply with safety measures.
Though some schools failed to attend the meeting, the PI said that attendance was good considering it was announced at the last moment. Moreover, speaking about security at campuses, he said majority of the schools have installed surveillance cameras.
A month ago, the Ministry of Human Resource Development had initiated serious steps for safety of students, including verification of antecedents of staff including teachers, in all educational institutions. The ministry also stressed that principals and head teachers be asked to supervise the overall functioning to ensure no child is abused either by teachers or any other staff.  
The guidelines also talked about every school having a minimum of one female teacher and hiring more women as cooks, helpers and other staff. As a part of pre-service child rights awareness to teachers, the ministry suggested various steps such as continuous education while also weaving in drills for safety and security of children in the event of any possible disaster or accident. “Challenging gender stereotypes and other inherent biases prevalent in the society can be intensively done
in the pre-service teacher training,” it said.