Schools told to implement security SOPs by 15th

Terrorism incident in Karachi last month seems to have prompted the government to become supercautious

LAHORE:

Punjab government has instructed the chief executive officers of all district education authorities in the province to complete security arrangements in schools by June 15.

The school education department has advised the heads of the schools falling in the top two categories to fulfil all the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for security.

The department has issued special SOPs regarding boundary walls, security guards, CCTV cameras and entry points of the schools.

The school administrators were asked to send a report to the department after completing all the arrangements by June 15.

On the other hand, school administrators reportedly say the provincial government should release funds for completing the security arrangements.

Sources said the Punjab government was concerned regarding security of students especially after an incident of terrorism reported in Karachi last month.

The Punjab School Education Department issued an alert to the schools and asked the CEOs of all district education authorities to complete foolproof security arrangements and submit a report in this regard.

The department also asked the school administration officials to work during the ongoing summer vacations to complete the security arrangements.

The schools are currently closed for the two-month vacations.

"After the incident of a terrorism last month in Karachi, the Punjab School Education Department is concerned about fulfilling its responsibility of ensuring security of the schools. We framed SOPs to be kept in view regarding the security measures and sent a list of the SOPs to all schools, asking them to implement the guidelines by June 15," a senior official of Punjab School Education Department told The Express Tribune.

He said the government wanted to complete all the required security arrangements before the schools reopen after the vacations.

"The SOPs will especially be implemented in the schools that fall in categories A and A plus in the big cities, including Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Chakwal, Faisalabad, Narowal, Sialkot, Bahawalpur and Rawalpindi," the official said.

He said big and well-known schools located on main roads and in densely populated areas fall in the categories for which the department had framed the special SOPs.

"We have advised such schools to raise their boundary walls to eight feet and install fences above them and repair dilapidated walls and put broken glass on top of them," the official said.

He said closed circuit television cameras would be installed at the entry points of the schools will barrier secreted in front of the gates and a zigzag passage into the premises.

He said the schools should inform the department about their security guards and the weapons carried by them.

"There should be security alarms in the schools, walkthrough gates and metal detectors," the official said and added that the divisional and district administration officials had been asked to visit the schools to review their security arrangements.

Punjab Teachers Union secretary general Rana Liaqat Ali said the teachers and school administrators were also concerned about the security arrangements but the government schools in the province were currently facing a shortage of funds.

He said the teachers were also demanding a raise because of rising prices of essential commodities.

He wondered how the government schools would bear the expenses of the additional security measures. He said the government should release funds for implementation of the security SOPs.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2022.