Ghaziabad administration issues safely guidelines for schools

The Ghaziabad district administration on Tuesday issued security guidelines to schools in the wake of the murder of a Class 2 student in a Gurugram school that has sparked concern about students' safety.

In a meeting held on Tuesday between the district administration and the school owners, the administration issued guidelines to be followed strictly by the schools.

The newly-posted Ghaziabad District Magistrate (DM) Ritu Maheswari, who chaired the meeting, told school owners to abide by the guidelines issued by the district administration.

Among the guidelines is that schools have to build separate toilets for visitors.

A seven-year-old boy of Ryan International School in Gurugram's Bhondsi was found murdered in the school washroom with his throat slit last week. The conductor of the school bus has been arrested for the crime. The school allowed outsiders to use the toilet meant for students.

The guideline also states that boundary walls should be higher to ensure they are beyond the reach of intruders.

The guidelines, which was circulated to the participants, state that the schools had to follow the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court (SC) in its order dated 16/12/1997.

The SC order which states that all school buses are to painted yellow. The driver's name, his license number, address, owner's name and address, their mobile numbers, transport department's helpline number are to be painted and displayed outside the bus prominently.

Each school had to appoint a Transport Manager solely responsible for children's security. The buses are to equipped with CCTV cameras and GPS system. Each bus has to be accompanied by a school teacher who will ensure child safety till his or her destination. Each bus had to be equipped with a First Aid and medical kit. The schools have to ensure that the driver does not use mobile phone while driving the bus. The fitness certificate for the bus from the transport department has to ensured each year.

The schools have to obtain no objection certificate (NOC) for the safety norms from the power corporation to avoid any electric fault.

For water safety the schools have to obtain NOC from the Municipal Corporation or from other competent authority. Each school had to maintain hygiene in its canteen.

If schools have swimming pool facility it had to employ a coach and lifeguard.

--IANS

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