Rawalpindi - The management of many private and government educational institutions have failed in making prompt security arrangements to protect students and staff in case of any mishap.
Around 1,950 government schools, including 380 high and higher secondary schools, and some 3,000 private schools are imparting education in Rawalpindi division but only a few have adopted security measures to foil any possible terror attack.
During a survey conducted by The Nation on Tuesday, it was observed that the security of many private and government educational institutions in Rawalpindi division was not satisfactory with no deployment of security guards or installation of CCTV cameras to monitor the movement of suspects around. Many private/government run schools and colleges, located at Adyala Road, Caltex Road, Dhoke Juma, Tulsa, Sherzaman Colony, Baqir Colony, Dhamial, Jorian, Tarbeela Colony, Chakri Road, Liaquat Colony, Ahmedabad, Bakra Mandi, Tahlimuri, Dhoke Syedan, Baraf Khana Chowk, Chakra, Misrial Road, Peshawar Road, Pirwadhai, IJP Road, Commercial Market, 6th Road, Murree Road, Shamasabad, Dhoke Kala Khan, Sadiqabad, Dhoke Sohan, Bandh Khana Road, Muslim Town, Fizaya, Trolley Adda, Chah Sultan, Committee Chowk, Waris Khan, Iran Road, Morgah, have made no satisfactory security arrangements to protect their students and teachers in any hard time.
Scores of parents and students expressed their resentment over the negligence of administrations of educational institutions. They said though the school management received funds in the name of security yet they did not spend money for the purpose. They demanded of the prime minister, federal interior minister, chief minister and secretary education Punjab to direct the administrations of educational institutions to make foolproof security arrangements.
On the other hand, the district government, following the Taliban’s brazen attack on Army Public School and College, Peshawar, directed all the educational institutions to make comprehensive security arrangements to avoid any untoward incident.
The secretary education Punjab also ordered all the district executive officers (education) and deputy DEOs to hold emergency meetings in their respective tehsils and districts with heads of educational institutions to direct them for adopting security measures in their institutions.
Executive District Officer (Education) Qazi Zahoor-ul-Haq, while talking to The Nation, said he was going to hold a meeting with heads of all educational institution and would send report to the secretary education. He said, “We can not afford this kind of tragedy again anywhere in Rawalpindi division.” He said he would send district officers and assistant district officers to schools in rural areas of the district to hold meetings with heads. Qazi said that the CCTV cameras would be installed outside schools. “We have decided to install CCTV cameras and prohibit entrance of unconcerned people strictly,” he said. He said that watchmen of every school would be directed to keep all doors of their schools closed and remain vigilant. He said that condolence references would be held in all schools to express sympathies with the bereaved families of martyrs of Army Public School and College, Peshawar.
In a press statement, All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association President Abrar Ahmed Khan said that the district government had issued such a warning in the past and administration of private schools had taken some steps including placing barricades outside schools and installing CCTV cameras. “The steps proved temporarily and we removed cameras and barricades with the passage of time,” he said. He added, “Today Peshawar is targeted, tomorrow another school may be targeted somewhere else in the country.”