Following the alleged rape of a seven-year-old student inside a Mangolpuri school recently, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has approved a slew of measures to ensure security of children, especially girls.
The civic body has decided to raise the height of the boundary walls to prevent intrusion and has decided to deploy security guards outside all the schools beginning next academic session.
A senior official of North Corporation said: “Most of the schools have a six-foot high boundary wall. The corporation has decided to raise its height by around four feet. Two-foot high iron fencing will be done on the walls with barbed wires”.
He added private security guards will be engaged to man entrances. The officials said initially security personnel will be hired from Delhi Government-approved security agencies but the corporation will eventually hold an open bidding process to engage private firms. There are 788 primary schools in North Corporation’s limits in which around 4.5 lakh students are enrolled.
Meanwhile, commissioner of the North Corporation, PK Gupta, directed the deputy commissioners of each zone to inspect schools in their respective areas every week. Six municipal zones fall under the North Corporation. “The commissioner has directed all DCs to dedicate two days for inspection of schools in their zones. DCs are instructed to sort out deficiency, if found, during inspection,” the official added.
To ensure safety and security of students, the civic body has also decided not to allow hawkers to sell eatables in the vicinity of corporation schools. The prohibition will be applicable to a radius of half-a-kilometer of the school.
Chairperson, Education Committee Rekha Gupta said: “Principals have been ordered to ensure that no hawker functions in the area. If they do, department officers concerned should immediately be alerted to remove hawkers”.
The decision has been taken not only to provide maximum security to the students, but also to ensure that students don’t eat unhygienic food, the chairperson added. “Removing hawkers will not affect students since midday meals are served in all schools. Moreover, makeshift eateries and hawkers sell unhygienic food. There is no check on the quality of food sold by them,” she added.