In the wake of militant attack on Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nasir Khan Durrani has issued detailed security guidelines for enhancing the security of educational institutions to the CCPO, Peshawar, Regional Police Officers (RPOs) and District Police Officers (DPOs).
The security guidelines issued for enhancing the security of schools, colleges and universities pertaining to employing security staff, manning entry & exit points, establishing observation posts, raising & fencing parameter walls, ensuring patrolling and vigilance inside & outside the premises, effective communication within the security staff, installing SOS alert system, managing school entry system, constituting parents vigilance committees and organising drills & rehearsals.
The DPOs have been directed to convene a meeting of all heads of private schools & colleges, government schools & colleges and vulnerable educational institutions along with the representatives from the Education Department and District Administration to sensitise them about the vulnerability and advise them to take appropriate security measures. Further, the DPOs have been tasked to convey the aforementioned security instructions to heads of all the educational institutions in writing.
The heads of all institutions have been directed to constitute a committee of sufficient number of parents, not less than 10 members, to pay a surprise visit to the institution and review the security arrangements. In case of any neglect, shortcomings or recommendation, the committee will inform the School administration and the local police. The head of the institution have also been asked to arrange drills and rehearsals at least once a month to acquaint the students and staff with the SOPs in case of emergency.
Further, the management of institutions have been urged to maintain constant liaison with the local police and apprise them immediately in case of any contingency. It is pertinent to mention that the DPOs have already started the process of checking the security arrangements of the educational institutions.
The security audit reports are being prepared and FIRs are being registered against the heads of institutions having inadequate security. During the last three days, FIRs have been registered against 468 heads of educational institutions on account of inappropriate security arrangements. This includes 156 in Peshawar, 128 in Mardan Region, 5 in Kohat Region, 148 in Bannu Region and 31 in Hazara Region. In case of repeated violations, it has been decided to take up the matter with the Home Department and the Education Department for closure of schools not adopting sufficient security measures.