COIMBATORE: City police has directed all school administrations to form a committee and perform safety audits periodically. Schools have been directed to eliminate risk of injury on campuses and ensure safety of students. The advisory comes in the wake of a series of mishaps that occurred in a few schools in the city recently.
On July 7, two workers were trapped after the temporary arrangement for a stage collapsed at a private school in Kuniyamuthur. One of the workers died and the other suffered injuries. As the work was carried out in the play ground, a major accident was avoided. The second incident happened on July 22 in a private school near Codissia, where a goalpost on the school’s grounds fell on a 7-year-old student, severely injuring her head. Following the parent’s complaint, police booked five persons belonging to the school management.
“Referring to the incidents, we insisted all schools to conduct safety audit on their campus. Also we asked them to ensure quality of equipment and buildings from the class to toilets. Precautionary measures like CCTV monitoring, emergency exit and fire safety equipment should be available.
The committee should check for such issues and make the campus student-friendly,” said police commissioner V Balakrishnan. He added, “We asked them to complete the audit in two weeks. Any school that fails to do this will face harsh punishment if something goes wrong on the campus.”