Hyderabad school protest: Principal says new rule introduced for student security

A new rule introduced by the 30-year-old school St. Andrews School in Hyderabad led to parents protesting outside the school in Bowenpally. The rule prohibits the entry of parents into the school premises till all the school buses have left. The day after the protests the authorities justified their decision citing security reasons.

The new rule was communicated to the parents through a circular informing them that they could pick up their wards only after all the buses left the premises. The decision angered the parents, who raised slogans outside the school on Saturday. However, Principal Shamita Bhattacharya said the rule was introduced considering some past bitter experiences.

Recalling the incidents, the Principal said that, “In 2 separate incidents children said they were going home alone but later were not found. We had to use the cameras to spot them as their parents were worried. This system is being introduced for the safety and security of students," said Bhattacharya. There are nearly 4,000 students in the school, of which 2,000 use the bus facility.

Parents, meanwhile, alleged that the school management held them hostage on Friday during their protest. But the principal was quick to counter the allegations, saying since the parents were not cooperating with the management the police had to be called not to threaten parents but for crowd management.

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The district education officer, Somi Reddy, has said that she will convene a meeting with school management and parents next week over this matter. Bhattacharya, meanwhile said that the school is open for dialogue. "When the parents were protesting, I was open for dialogue with a group of 4-5 parents. Arrangements were made at the auditorium, but the protesting parents refused to talk and instead stopped the buses from going out, creating ruckus outside the school," she said.