This government school located at Reti Line, Saddar, does not have any security guards to protect the schoolchildren from any untoward incidents. PHOTO: ONLINE
KARACHI: A day after a grenade attack in Gulshan-e-Iqbal's Block 7, school administrations have claimed that there was a lack of security in the area where several private educational institutions are located.
Although more than 25 schools in the locality were open on Wednesday, less than 50 per cent of the students showed up for class following Tuesday's attack.
School managements in the area demanded that security personnel should be deployed at and around the educational institutes during school hours. "We are doing our part of the job. The government and law enforcers should devise an effective strategy to increase the parents' confidence and showing that they will protect their children," said Muhammad Zafir Zia, administrator at the Hallmark Public School, which is located around 300 metres away from the blast site. "In this city, a vast majority of private schools cannot ensure security without the government's support."
On Tuesday evening, the district East SSP Abid Qaimkhani had a a meeting with the management of different schools at The City School's campus and assured them that law enforcers will be deployed in the area and will patrol educational institutions during school hours.
However, Yasmin Qazi, the chief coordinator at Beacon Light Academy — the school which was attacked by the militants on Tuesday morning — did not see this happening.
"The cooperation offered by the government and security officials was phenomenal after the attack; however, we did not see any security personnel patrolling the roads during school hours," Qazi told The Express Tribune. "We have beefed up security arrangements within the school premises and expect from the government to fulfil its part of the agreement."
She asserted that the Rangers' deployment and police patrolling did not start before 1pm, close to the Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo's visit.
An official associated with the Beaconhouse School System (BSS), which has a campus for primary-level students in the area, said that the schools management were being bombarded with the directives to ensure security but nobody was ready to take the guarantee about securing the roads.
"Except for providing contact numbers of senior police officials, the school administrations have been asked to do the security arrangements on their own," said a BSS official. "We have increased the number of private security guards at the campus and intend to cordon off the entrance and exit points in association with other schools."
Published in The Express Tribune, February 5th, 2015.
COMMENTS (2)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
ET moderators please print. This Qaimkhani is well known in police circles. He will not provide security. He is part of the problem. He is busy with his business. He need to make this much money every month. with his bhatta khori. Has no time or personnel to deploy as guards for school security. He will looses money. He may do it for a week, then the police go back to making their money.
There is Police in Karachi but it is only meant to secure Bilawal House in Clifton, Chief Minister House, Speaker and Deputy Speaker, Provincial Ministers Houses and to give them protocol.
One can also see on the main Clifton Road how many Police Mobile Vans are escorting the elite people of the Provincial Goverment.
Sindh Government cannot provide security to Schools, as Police in Karachi is only suppose to secure highly placed Government Servants.
Taliban want that all Schools should be shut down by the School Owners and Administrators and Government of Sindh also want the same.