In a shocking rebuttal to the protests against the death of 7-year-old Pradyumn Thakur at Ryan International School in Bhondsi, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the school, Ryan Pinto, posted a video message calling the school “a victim of unfortunate circumstances.”
In the video, Pinto “requests” everyone to not hold the school culpable of a crime. He added that neither he nor his school will succumb to the various “false allegations.”
We will not succumb to various false allegations that are being made nor will we fear the various controversies being spread. We should not unjustly be blamed or branded as the perpetrators.Ryan Pinto, CEO Ryan International
But the reality is very different.
A Tragedy Waiting to Happen
A three-member committee, headed by the District Education Officer, submitted a report on 10 September, revealing the many security lapses at Ryan International. Had only the school adhered to the guidelines issued by the Gurugram police back in 2014, Pradyumn would have still been alive today.
Not only does Pinto fail to provide reason for such lapses, he also unapologetically failed to even acknowledge the findings of the committee.
Here are the Gurugram Police guidelines flouted by the ‘victims of unfortunate circumstances’:
1. According to the guidelines, the schools should have just one entry/exit point and it also should be manned.
Not only did Ryan’s Bhondsi branch, where the incident took place, have four entry points, three of them were unmanned and had no compound walls.
An backdoor entrance to Ryan school, without security or compound wall.
(Photo: The Quint)
2. The report states that there should be separate toilets for girls and boys, for teachers, and separately for support staff.
The committee, in its report, revealed that there were no separate toilets and washrooms for the 40 bus drivers and conductors of the school.
3. The administration should let all the employees, both teaching and non-teaching staff, where they have access to.
This access list, should also be circulated as an internal memo and be displayed on the notice boards across the school.
They had to use the students’ toilets. The bus drivers and conductors were not frisked. There was no system to check security in the school. No CCTV cameras were installed covering each and every corner of the school.Ram Bilas Sharma, Haryana Education Minister
Is Pinto’s ignorance towards the security lapses a sign by itself of the kind of accountability the school assumes it holds? Does he actually believe that he was ‘unjustly blamed’?
Schools Skeptical to Talk About Security
The Quint also visited six other schools in Gurugram to understand how they ensure the safety of the students and how they have bucked up after the brutal murder. However, most schools were skeptical to talk about or divulge information about their security guidelines.
An administration superintendent of a neighbouring international school, on condition of anonymity, said:
See, most schools employ these bus conductors and drivers through private contractors. While the school is supposed to run background checks, no one has the time or the human resources for it, especially if they are last minute replacements.
Sudha Goyal, the principal of Scottish High School, said that she had a review meeting with her top staff in the light of the incident at Ryan School.
One cannot just assume that the fee paid by the parents is directly proportional to the security that the school offers. It is the prime duty of the school to put safety of the students first. And this incident has obviously made us more aware of how important security is.Sudha Goyal, principal of Scottish High School
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