City schools raise the security bar

While metal detectors and CCTV cameras may be the order of the day, with Delhi Public School, Dwarka deploying hand-held metal detectors at the school gates, DPS, RK Puram is looking into hiring a security consultant. Principal Shyama Chona said, “We will get something even more specialised.”

Security seems to be top priority for many schools, particularly after the police received hoax calls about terrorists holed up inside schools in the city on Wednesday. At Shri Ram School, a meeting on security was held on Thursday. Parents were asked to use school buses instead of private transport and be there to pick up their children from schools or bus stops, Principal Komal Sood said. Extra security personnel have also been deployed at the school.

The school, however, doesn’t plan on introducing metal detectors or CCTV cameras, officials said. “Metal detectors do not deter any attacks. We are making sure anybody entering the school has proper identification and we know our parents really well,” Sood said.

Security has been stepped up in many city schools, including Laxman Public School, and almost all schools are checking bags and visitors’ identification. But for some, metal detectors are a must. At Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj, metal detectors will be deployed beginning Friday. Fire-fighting equipment and hydrants have also been upgraded, Principal Anju Uppal said. “Even before the Mumbai attacks, we were planning on tightening security,” Uppal said. CCTV cameras too are in the pipeline, she said.

At Vasant Valley, access to the school has been blocked and the school gates are being monitored, Director Arun Kapur said. “Friendly access is now being curtailed,” he said. Some schools said that while they have increased security, they are not publicising this, as they don’t want to create panic. “We have had CCTV cameras at the entrances for a long time now,” Modern School Principal Lata Vaidyanathan said. “We have restricted entry into school now.”

Several school said parents have responded well to the increased security.

In Gurgaon, DPS plans to introduce a GSM-enabled chip among other measures that will help trace students in case of an emergency. “Though this was in the pipeline for a while, we have now decided to implement these measures by March. With the GSM technology, we will be able to alert security agencies if a student is in trouble. The monthly charges will be shared by the parents and the school,” Ashish Prasad, school administrator, said. The parents are, however, protesting against the security deposit of Rs 2,700 and Rs 350 on a monthly basis.

With inputs from Aneesha Mathur & Tanushree Roy Chowdhury