Students pay homage amid security puzzle

NEW DELHI: Fourteen-year-old Heena Bodwal lit the first candle at Central Park, Connaught Place, to pay homage to the innocent children who were killed in the terrorist attack in Peshwar, Pakistan. “This sort of attacks should stop,” said the Class IX student from NP Girls Senior Secondary School, Gole Market. Her sentiment was echoed by the 1,000-odd kids from government and municipals schools in central and New Delhi who lit candles and observed a two-minute silence against the carnage at the meet organized by Delhi government and NDMC.
The children, however, weren’t scared as they felt “terrorist attacks happen to others and fear is for the adults anyway.” “Hum to Dilli me hain,” said Vishal Kumar Singh, a Class XI student from Government Boys’ Senior Secondary School, Mata Sundari Road, in a tone laying all fears of a similar attack to rest.
The authorities, however, aren’t so sure and new ways of securing schools are being considered. “A school can’t be a military camp,” said NDMC chairperson Jalaj Shrivastava, putting his finger on the dilemma facing authorities that there is a need to protect but, at the same time, too many security measures can be oppressive. “We are talking to the kids about staying safe, about being careful. But being constantly alert also adds to the stress and affects the atmosphere,” said Aruna Bhanot, economics teachers at NP Girls’.
“We’ve never had to think about this. But this incident has forced us to,” said Padmini Singla, director, education. The guards at schools, she says, are “aam (ordinary)” and all safety drills address earthquakes and fires. In short, schools have nothing that’ll help counter men armed with guns and murderous intent.
“What level of preparation is adequate? Six guards per school and increased surveillance using CCTVs ? Those are already used. We can use a quick response system, a siren-based one that alerts authorities of an emergency. But the only true deterrent—a very strong intelligence base—is outside the purview of the education department,” said Shrivastava.
The schoolchildren showed immense sympathy for their counterparts in Peshawar. Most students of classes IX to XII were of the same age as those killed by the terrorists. “They deserve justice, we’ll pray for them,” said Rimsa Sabir, 15, from Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya Haveli Azam Khan.Parents were worried but still sent their children to school on Wednesday. “Despite the high alert and bomb scares, there was no dip in attendance,” said Vakil Ahmad, political science teacher at GBSSS, Zeenat Mahal. But Hukum Singh, who teaches at GBSSS Pandara Road, said attendance was down to nearly half.