ICSE schools say they already have CCTV cameras

MUMBAI: Several city schools affiliated to

Council for Indian School Certificate Examination

said they already had installed

CCTV

cameras on their premises to ensure the

safety of students and staff

.

In a circular to school principals on December 4, chief executive and secretary Gerry Arathoon said, "All schools are hereby informed that they shall, forthwith, and in any event not later than two weeks hereof, mandatorily install CCTV cameras in all class rooms, examination halls, corridors, libraries, laboratories, staircases, entrances of staff room and washrooms, play field(s), open spaces, terraces, bus parking bay where children board and/or alight from school buses/other vehicles and at all other places, as required, and monitor the same, for complete safety and security of all its students and staff."

The council will also send an updated safety manual to schools. The instructions were issued following a safety audit schools were told to conduct in September.

"We already have full coverage surveillance. We did not have CCTV cameras only inside lifts but we are installing them," said Chandrakanta Pathak, principal, HVB Global Academy, Marine Drive. Similarly, at St Mary's School, Mazgaon, authorities have installed over 200 cameras to keep a watch on the campus.

Schools have also been told to ensure recordings of all CCTV cameras are preserved for at least a fortnight. "We have CCTV cameras for several years but we are upgrading them. While CISCE only expects us to save footage for a fortnight, we store it for two years. We also have dedicated people to monitor the cameras constantly," said Seema Saini, principal, N L Dalmia School, Mira Road.

Schools which are yet to install cameras feel the time given may be insufficient.