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The Punjab government may be claiming to convert government schools into smart schools, but the ground reality is completely reversed. On Friday, a girl suddenly went missing from a government primary school in Bhamia village in Ludhiana. After a long time, he could be found, but the incident exposed the security system of government schools. There are a total of 1527 government schools in the district, out of which 993 schools are of primary level.
Although secondary schools were provided security guards in the first face, but surprisingly, no primary school has been provided with security guards. Orders have been given by the Education Department to install CCTV cameras in all schools, whose funds are also issued for maintenance, but in many schools the cameras are either not working or have become a showpiece.
When the school was investigated after the Bhamia incident, it was found that some cameras installed there were closed. The question is, when young children are in school, whose responsibility is for their safety. DEO Primary Ravinder Kaur admitted that security guards are not appointed in primary schools and demands have been sent to the department repeatedly.
He has instructed all schools that the gates should be closed as soon as the school opens in the morning and should not be opened till the holiday. Only children should be handed over to parents. Also, during the holiday, a teacher was present near the gate. He also said that the school teachers will also be responsible for whether the cameras are working. If a camera is bad then it should be fixed immediately.
People say that so much laxity can be very dangerous in terms of safety of young children. Today, even though the girl is found safe, if a child happens, then who will be responsible for it.
When the government gives the tag of a smart school, it should have basic facilities like security. People allege that this entire incident has once again forced to think that the department and the government are not serious about the safety of children. People are being shown the dream of smart school only in files.