Ryan International murder aftermath: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha frame new rules for students' safety

In the wake of the murder of a seven-year-old student at Gurugram’s Ryan International School, police across different states besides government arms involved in handling matters of schools have issued various guidelines to ensure safety of students during school hours. On Thursday, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation instructed all schools under it to allow girls to only visit washroom in pairs. “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,” said Preety Agarwal, mayor of the north delhi civic body, was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times. 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. [caption id=“attachment_4046843” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational images. Reuters[/caption] Meanwhile, CBSE came out with a broader  set of rules. While it demanded a security and safety audit of the premises and staff, it also made mandatory the training of its employees to protect the students from any kind of abuse. The board also asked schools to form a committee for redressal of grievances, complaint committee on sexual harassment, and committee under Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act. On Tuesday, the Delhi government had made police verification and CCTV schools a must in all private and government schools, reported The New Indian Express. The concerns surfaced after a three-member Special Investigation team found serious lapses in its security system of the Ryan International School. Pradhuman Thakur, the victim of Gurugram murder, was killed by a bus conductor in the school’s washroom. Uttar Pradesh, too, addressed the issue of child security. DGP Sulkhan Singh recently sent a circular to private and government schools requesting them the security verification of all teaching and non-teaching staff, reported The Hindu. The managements were informed by the state police to secure the personal information of their employees in as both physical documents and in electronic format. Acting upon the circular, Agra police made it mandatory for the staff in the city’s schools to undergo a police verification. Inspector General of Police Muttah Ashok Jain told India Today that all school managements were instructed to get their employees checked and told to install CCTV cameras in all places where students have access.

The Ghaziabad district administration, which held a meeting in the backdrop of the Gurugram murder, also asked schools to step up their measures. According to The Pioneer, the set of guidelines issued to schools told them to construct separate toilets for visitors and ancillary staff. It also demanded the appointment of a transport manager for the security of students. School buses were told to have a GPS system, with CCTV cameras installed.

Meanwhile, the School and Mass Education Department in Odisha told all school authorities that each visitor, including parents, would have to produce their identity cards before entry into school premises. It also said that the contractual staff of a school should be appointed only after proper verification of their identity. This apart, they have also stressed on installing CCTV cameras at all strategic locations of the school premises. The Mumbai Police is expected to soon issue their own set of guidelines for schools. Besides asking schools to install CCTVs and conduct background checks on their staff, reported  The Indian Express, the Mumbai police are figuring out if they can ask schools to deploy guards outside washrooms or let students visit access it in pairs. They will continue with their drive ‘Police Didi’, started in 2016, which requires woman constables to visit schools to sensitise students on issues relating to sexual harassment. With inputs from PTI