Delhi: DoE Asks Schools To Form Committees For Surprise Checking Of Students’ Bags

The move is aimed at ensuring that no material that may harm any other student in any possible way is brought to school.

Delhi Govt To Bring In Surprise Checking Of School Bags of Students (Representational Image)

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A latest circular from the Directorate of Education, Delhi, has asked schools in the national capital to form committees to ensure surprise bag checking of students. The move from the Delhi government is aimed at ensuring that children don’t bring any such material to school that may potentially harm other students. In this matter, Delhi schools have also been directed to make sure that guards at the gates of schools regularly check the bags of students, and the CCTVs in schools must function at all times, news agency PTI reported. 

As per the Directorate of Education, Delhi, several incidents about students quarrelling and fighting in and outside school premises during school hours have been reported. To keep a check on such reported incidents, school heads in Delhi have been asked to devise a mechanism to ensure the safety and security of students in school premises, the DoE circular said. "In order to make schools a safe and secure place for all concerned, it is imperative for all schools to implement a streamlined framework for ensuring good safety practices for students, parents and staff," the circular reads. 

"Therefore, all heads of government and private schools are hereby directed to constitute a committee for random/surprise checking of school bags of students in classrooms and ensure that no student is in possession of any material that may be used to harm fellow students. The heads of schools have also been asked to direct all guards at entry gates to regularly check bags for any unwanted or inappropriate articles so that no untoward incident happens in schools. Heads of schools should also ensure that CCTVs are installed in the school and are functional all the time. Visitors should not be allowed to enter the classrooms and staff rooms," it added. 

Welcoming the Delhi government’s move, Delhi Parents' Association president Aparajita Gautam also raised concerns about the longevity and implementation of the norm on the ground. "It is a very good initiative and I welcome it because it is for students' safety. How will the government schools, that do not have sufficient manpower, implement this?" she posed. She further stated that the Delhi government should bring more of such norms to ensure students’ safety in schools, especially in government schools. 

Notably, a class 11 student was stabbed to death last week by three teenagers for allegedly harassing one of them in the Neb Sarai area of South Delhi. As per the police, the three juveniles involved in the incident have been apprehended and two knives used in the crime have also been recovered. 

(With inputs from PTI)