With the Delhi Police asking schools in the national Capital to be more “prepared” for terror attacks following the incident in an Army school in Peshawar on Tuesday, principals of most private schools feel that “sheer preparedness doesn’t deflect terrorists from soft spots such as these” and a national policy for security in such areas needs to be generated. While most schools said that they already have all security measures in place including photographic validation of people entering the premises in some schools, there is no form of weapons kept inside the schools and there is also absence of any armed guards at the gate or inside.
According to principal of Springdales School Ameeta Mulla Wattal, armed men instil fear in children and also make parents feel threatened. “Schools are public places spread across acres of land. There is so much exposure to people coming in and out, we can’t stop everyone. We do have security systems in place wherein every person coming in is screened but what else do schools doIJ The Government must plan out a clear cut policy that must be implemented in all schools. This way parents won’t feel threatened to see armed men around their three-year-old kids. This needs a lot of thought as this is an issue of terror,” she said.
Similarly some other principals of schools in the Capital said that their land is often left open to outsiders for using the playground and at that time stopping and screening people is not possible.
Schools like Indian School even have defence mechanisms installed in the school as well with photo validation of people entering, but that also leads to severe criticism from many parents.