Ryan International School, where Pradyuman Thakur was killed, has been shut again.
Highlights
- Six Central ministries working on security protocol for schools
- Maneka Gandhi suggested steps like hiring women drivers for school buses
- Delhi government asks private schools for police verification of staff
More than 10,000 schools across the country have been asked to conduct psychological tests of their teachers along with police verification, by the Central Board of Secondary Education. The rule -- which came amid nationwide concern about of safety of students following the murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur at a school in Gurgaon -- also applies to the support staff of the schools.
The CBSE notification issued on Thursday also says limited access should be granted to outsiders and there should be training programmes on laws protecting the safety, security and interests of the students for all staff members.
The Delhi government, too, issued a notice to the capital's private schools, ordering police verification of all teaching and support staff. "Safety and security of the students must be the paramount concern of the managing committee of all schools," its notification read.
On September 8, Pradyuman Thakur was found lying in a pool of blood outside the toilet of Gurgaon's Ryan International School, his throat had been slit. The police say the killer is a conductor of the school bus, who has been arrested.
The CBSE notification has raised questions. Principals of most schools say they are unclear about what these tests will comprise, who will conduct it, and what happens to a staff member who fails the test.
"What is it that a psychometric test can say? It requires a real expert to administer it and evaluate it. Given that we have 10,000 and more CBSE schools in the country, do we have the personnel to administer it?" asked Dr Annie Koshi, Principal of Delhi's St. Mary's School
"It would not be a pleasant experience to be evaluated by the police. I'm not particularly comfortable with biometric and psychometric tests," said a teacher, Adityan Nair, English teacher of St Mary's school.
Yesterday, Union minister Maneka Gandhi said six Central ministries are working together to develop a security protocol for schools. The minister has suggested several measures, including appointing women drivers for school buses.
Ryan International School, which had been shut since Pradyuman's murder, opened on Monday. But it was shut down by the end of the day after it was found that the security loopholes linger. Parents who came to the school said there has been no upgrade of security. "Security and facilities at Ryan today were no different from the dreadful September 8, nothing has changed since," said one parent.
Following Pradyuman's murder, a three-member Special Investigation Team had found that the boundary wall of the school was broken, which gave outsiders easy access to the premises. Also, the students were forced to share toilet facilities with bus drivers and conductors.