Being a boarding school, we have to ensure that no intruder make his/her way into the campus and influence the residents in a wrong way. A stringent check on people coming in and going out has to be monitored. A security team of well-trained personnel is put in place to ensure that students also do not venture out unnecessarily. CCTV cameras are put in place to monitor movement in and around the campus. Students and parents or guardians should be issued ID cards so that any person coming to meet students can be identified as a legitimate person. Injuries and illnesses of children should be attended to immediately. A medical team within the campus would be handy. Healthy and hygienic food should be served for the children.
Wilfred Noronha
Principal, St. Peter’s School, Panchgani
Safety and security are the major concerns of any school today. It is the responsibility of the management to make school, a second home for children as they spend close to eight hours in a day here. Ensuring safe infrastructure should be the top priority. Clean drinking water, first-aid centres, trained staff to handle emergency situation and trained security guards are some of the must-haves of a school. Apart from these, students involved in outside-the-classroom activities should be monitored by teachers; CCTV cameras should be installed in all the classrooms and at various places on the campus. School vans should be safe too. Female assistants and well-trained drivers should be employed in each van and child escorts should be given gate passes, which should be produced during pick up.
Sikha Ray Chaudhuri
Principal, Appollo National Public School, Banashankari, Bengaluru
Our school has a bluebook, wherein rules and regulations for ‘safe practices’ are laid down. The list is updated from time to time based on the feedback from teachers, parents and children. All co-scholastic classes are conducted by trained resource people, under the supervision of staff members. Students are frequently counselled about safety practices: be it while using digital boards, while operating classroom air conditioner or while using science and computer labs. First-aid training programmes and disaster management workshops are organised.
Dr.Suvarna Kuppa
St.Peters High School, Bowenpally, Secunderabad
Schools should take various measures and be prepared for handling untowards incidents. The aspects that schools should keep in mind include fire accidents, outbreak of diseases, injuries on and off the playground. Installation of CCTV cameras at various points on the campus, maintenance of fool-proof health records of children, continuous monitoring of students and arranging periodic counselling sessions (especially, for adolescent students), etc can go a long way in ensuring safety on the campus.
S. Ramakrishnasayee,
Principal, DAV-BHEL School, BHEL Township, Ranipet
The first and foremost responsibility of a school is to provide safe environment for the students. Schools should take the following measures to ensure this: Unauthorized persons should not be allowed to pick up the children; Safety practices in laboratories; Ensuring that the toilets and the pathways are not slippery; installation of lightning arrestors and Water tanks and septic tanks should be properly covered.
P. Thankam,
Principal, Sree Krishna Hindu Vidyalaya Matric. Hr. Sec. School, Marayapuram, Kappukad (P.O), Kanya Kumari district,
It is important for schools to have a ‘safety committee’ with teachers as members. First aid training and disaster management training should be provided to teachers, students and other staff members. Adequate emergency exits and fire extinguishers should be in place. It is also important the people on the campus have the knowledge of using these facilities. Installation of CCTV cameras, regular inspection of power room, clearance of dead woods and construction debris are vital too.
Toilet cleaners such as phenol and acid should be kept out of reach of children. Manholes and choke pits should be covered. No open wells to be found in schools. Safety and first aid during sports hours are to be ensured. School buses to be maintained properly with regular services. GPS system should be installed in all school vehicles and private vehicles carrying school children should provide their details at the school office.
Prasanna Radhakrishnan
Founder Principal & Executive Secretary
GKD Matric.Hr.Sec.School, Periyanaickenpalayam, Coimbatore
Students should be made aware of the possible dangerous situations. Our school has formed a School Parliament wherein students are given different responsibilities. For e.g. the Home Ministry, comprising of teachers and students, looks after the discipline of the school in break time. We have a team of alert qualified medical staff ready to attend accidents and emergency cases. The school must follow a restricted time schedule for the entry and exit of students. Our school has a Smart School Diary (SSD) System wherein, automatic messages are sent to the parents’ mobile from the moment a student steps inside the school bus till the child is dropped at his/ her place. Absent alerts are also sent to the parents through this. The schools must follow a proper system for screening visitors. Apart from all the safety measures, creating a child-friendly environment is very important. The child should feel comfortable to report any grievances to the school authorities.
Asha Byju
Principal, MES International School, Pattambi, Palakkad District, Kerala
