How safe are our schools, following APS and Charsadda attacks?
After the APS attack and prevailing security risks to educational institutions; security forces have been organizing security drills and conducting workshops to spread awareness dealing with such situations which is good and appreciable, but what have we learnt up till now? I have been trying to get answers of a few questions but I have not gotten satisfactory answers as of yet.
Q1. How many schools have fire extinguishers? Fire extinguishers are very essential items even in normal conditions to deal with any kind of fire issues. More importantly, how many students know how to use it when there is a fire?
Q2. How many schools have emergency alarm systems? Emergency exits to evacuate students and staff from the building in case of any emergency? (May Allah protect us from any uncertainty).
Q3. How many police stations have strategic plans, forces, weapons to engage terrorists till army or police elite force and others reach the venue, as an area’s police will be the first to reach the spot and more assistance will take some time to reach the spot, especially in a mega city like Karachi?
Q4. How many school owners have started keeping a vigilant eye around their schools to observe unusual activities ?
Q5. How many schools have well trained security guards? How many school owners personally verified documents (authority letter for weapons, CNIC) of security guards hired by them?
Q6. How many school owners are in complete contact with police and its special branch and other intelligence agencies?
Q7. How many parents went to school to discuss their concerns and to see whether their beloved children are safe in schools or not?
Let’s take a break from this.
Safety and security of our future generation is not the responsibility of LEAs only but it is the joint responsibility of all. We will have to do something practically and take some positive steps like psychological and civil defense training etc to save our future generations from such kind of security threats, otherwise to conduct security drills with intense aerial firing and commando action by police and LEAs will not work if we are lacking in basic needs to cope with the situation.