School protest: New rule for security, says principal

Hyderabad: A day after parents protested outside St Andrews School, Bowenpally, over its new rule prohibiting their entry into the premises till all the school buses leave, authorities justified their decision citing security reasons.
The 30-year-old school had issued a circular this month informing parents that they could pick up their wards only after all the buses left the premises.The decision irked parents, who raised slogans outside the school on Saturday.
However, principal Shamita Bhattacharya said the rule had been introduced keeping in mind some bitter experiences they had in the past.
"There were two incidents when children said they were going home on their own but later were not found. We had to use the cameras to spot them as their parents were worried. This system is being introduced for the safety and security of students," said Bhattacharya. There are nearly 4,000 students in the school, of which 2,000 use the bus facility.
Parents, meanwhile, alleged that the school management held them hostage on Friday when they protested. But the principal rubbished the allegations, saying the parents had not cooperated with the management and that police had to be called not to threaten parents but for crowd management.
The district education officer, Somi Reddy, will be holding a meeting with the school management and parents on Monday over this matter. Bhattacharya, meanwhile, told TOI that they are open for dialogue. "When the parents were protesting, I was open for dialogue with a group of four to five parents. Arrangements were made at the auditorium, but the protesting parents refused to talk and instead stopped the buses from going out, creating ruckus outside the school," she said.