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“While I was making the rounds of schools to get my child admitted, the first thing that struck me at a particular school was the lack of ACs in the classrooms. Arey aapne AC ni lagwaaya (Oh, you haven’t installed ACs), I asked the management. Now, of course, all of that has changed for me,” said Nihal*, a Delhi-based parent.
For Nihal, and several other parents in Delhi-NCR, the merciless murder of a 7-year-old in Gurugram’s Ryan International School by the school bus conductor has shaken them up.
A group of parents, whose children study at an elite school in Noida, have collated a list of security measures that they want the school to adhere to.
Taking a cue from the list and suggestions by parents like Nihal*, here is a list of things that the parents think should be top priority for guardians while looking to get their kids admitted to schools.
Nishtha, a Noida-based single parent, admits to being paranoid about her child’s safety.
Nishtha, whose daughter was admitted at Noida’s Genesis School only a few weeks back, also had other considerations on her mind.
“Things like how far is the nearest medical centre or how secure are the boundary walls of the school were important when I got her admitted,” she says.
Delhi-based Sandeep’s children study in Mayur Vihar’s Ahlcon Public School. Recently, in a meeting with the school management, he suggested that CCTV cameras be installed inside washrooms.
But Vaishali, a Noida-based journalist, begs to differ. “A lot of the kids who take up gym sessions or swimming classes change in the washrooms, and not necessarily inside the urinals. You can’t have a camera there,” she asserts.
For Vaishali, the Ryan school incident underlines the need for having a stringent and well-monitored hiring policy, both for teachers and the support staff. “I think what parents should look at is the process of hiring the staff in these schools. Are the support staff trained after being hired? Is there a proper verification check on the drivers and conductors? What protocols have been put in place if a child reports something to the teacher?”
As soon as Vaishali mentioned these checks, she reminded me that for parents it’s not always practically possible to ensure these while getting their children admitted. “But beggars can’t be choosers. In some cases, the parents are just happy they got their kids admitted, you know?,” she says, with a sense of helplessness.
*name changed on request
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