Schools told to strictly adhere to SOPs on managing stray dogs

Panaji: The directorate of education (DoE) has issued a circular to schools, instructing them to strictly adhere to the Supreme Court directives on the management of stray dogs in public places, including educational institutions. The circular states that the safety of students and staff within school premises should be ensured by following the standard operating procedure (SOP) formulated by Animal Welfare Board of India.

The circular asks heads of govt, govt-aided, and unaided primary, secondary, higher secondary, and special schools to display the SOPs on the main notice board and to bring the SOP to the notice of students and all stakeholders of the institution.


The SOPs state that school managements should ensure that stray dogs do not enter the area and that the management is responsible for securing the institution to prevent the entry of stray dogs.

“In cases of educational institutions, the management concerned shall identify a nodal officer, whose responsibility will be to ensure that no stray dog enters or inhabits the premises, and proper waste management should be done in and around the area. To effectively implement the direction, it must be ensured that the perimeter of the area is bounded by a fence of not less than six feet in height,” the SOPs state.

The management must also make sure that the entry and exit points, as well as the main gate of the area, are properly secured to prevent the ingress of stray dogs, the SOPs state.

“While exercising the direction, management, with the assistance of local/municipal authorities, shall remove all the stray dogs found within the premises of any such area and shift them to designated animal shelters. All the dogs must be taken out from the areas to be sterilised, vaccinated, and then kept in a shelter either maintained by the municipal corporations or in coordination with local animal welfare organisations or any person or organisation volunteering to keep those dogs,” said the SOP.