Gordon Brown proposes security plan for schools in Pakistan

Proposed measures include installing security fences, metal detectors, armed guards and better communication systems

United Nations Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown on Tuesday proposed a foolproof security plan for provision of better safety measures in the schools of Pakistan, BBC reported.

The former British prime minister held talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif about making schools safer after the Peshawar school massacre that killed over 140 pupils and staff members.

The proposed measures included installing security fences, metal detectors, armed guards and using emergency communication systems. Brown said he wanted to help schools stand up to terrorist violence.

The proposals follow an agreement between the UN envoy and PM Nawaz to improve the safety of schools in the country. In the past five years, there have been more than a thousand attacks on schools in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa.

Peace zones

Brown has been promoting a plan for safe schools drawn up by education charity, World at School, drawing upon the best practice being used in parts of Pakistan or in conflict zones in other countries.

It calls for the creation of peace zones around schools, negotiated with local community and religious leaders. There are proposals for a more systematic approach to security, including boundary walls. security checkpoints and razor wire. It calls for armed guards on vantage points such as rooftops and tighter vetting checks on security staff. It also warns of concerns over school transport and calls for buses to be checked every day for explosive devices.

If schools are attacked, the report said there must be a way of rapidly calling for assistance and alerting other schools.

Education under attack

There were also suggestions that small schools in isolated areas could be brought together into places where they could be better protected or moved to areas of greater safety. Brown called upon the international community to fund the security improvements. He said such measures to make schools safer will reassure parents and pupils that everything is being done to counter extremist threats.

A spokesperson for PM Nawaz reiterated his personal commitment to working with the UN envoy to improve the security of children in school.

Later this year, Brown is expected to support international proposals to give schools and places of education a protected status during military operations. There have been rising levels of deliberate attacks on schools and colleges in other countries, including by Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria.