BENGALURU: No sooner had children gone back to school than they are being pushed into the illegal business of drugs. Government schools, which lack security guards monitoring the movement of children, are now turning into hubs of crime.
A recent video shows children being forced to smoke beedi and also become suppliers or small-time dealers to procure drugs. This incident was reported by former corporator M Srikanth of Devasandra ward, who told TNIE that miscreants had abused and ill-treated a group of schoolchildren. The incident took place on Saturday, following which police registered a case and BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta was told to ensure there is sufficient security in schools.
Another former corporator and BBMP education wing official said since schools were closed for more than one year and most of them were left unattended, some portions had turned into dens for smoking and drinking. This continues even now, and parents have pointed this out to officials.
“To ensure safety of children in school, security guards should be deployed. Teachers cannot keep track of those who come in and go out. Expecting children to be vigilant is not possible either. Also, keeping the pandemic and health of children in mind, security staff should be deployed,” said the official.
Government schools have not employed security guards for many decades, and officials say there is no provision for such a post either. Prasanna Kumar M, Director, Public Instruction, said the safety of schools is overseen by the headmaster, physical education teacher, Group D employees and teachers. There is no night security as schools are shut. There are around 52,000 government schools in Bengaluru. Gupta said the matter will be investigated and discussed with the education section of BBMP.