Safety of students not a priority in Gurugram govt schools

Gurugram: It took the courage of five girls of a government school in Manesar to highlight once again the lack of security faced by thousands of students in government schools of Gurugram.

Five students of Government Girls Middle School, Manesar, have filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking the court's intervention in the issue related to the safety of students.

The petition mentions that the school premises are used for non-educational purposes and multiple outlets operate out of the school compound.

Last month, the girls had also sent a letter to the district education officer outlining their concerns.

"A post office, primary health centre, panchayat Bhavan, Anganwadi, and a park run from the school premises. Under the pretext of accessing these public places, many anti-social elements also frequent the school which makes us feel unsafe and also disrupts our education," stated the letter.

The girls had requested the education officer to get the non-educational set-ups removed from the school premises.

After five girls approached the Punjab and Haryana high court against the alleged lack of security at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Manesar, Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram Amit Khatri on Saturday visited the school to check security arrangements.

He later announced the installing of CCTV cameras which surprisingly was not there in the school.

The incident of a class-II student being murdered in the washroom of the school in 2017 highlighted the concerns of the safety of children within the school premises.

It seems that there are still many educational institutions especially those managed by the Government where the lackadaisical approach is compromising the security of the students.

Co-incidentally at around the same time last year a class 11 student attacked his colleague with scissors after an altercation in Sohna.

In most of the government schools, students can still be seen coming in and out of the school premises at their will.

Moreover, despite the ban, most of the hawkers selling cigarettes have come around the area. There are also complaints that most of the liquore vending units have also set up their shops around the government to target the students. In a damming report that had come it was cited that 150 government schools in Gururgam do not possess the fore NOC.