St. John’s High School is among the few schools in Kalaburagi to have implemented all the conditions imposed by the State government to ensure the safety of the students, particularly girls.
The school, run by the Hindustani Covenant Church, Pune, has put in place all the directives of the government in this regard, including an internal security committee consisting of a lady teacher and nine girl students to keep a constant watch on the happenings in the school.
Sujatha Mulla, Principal of the school, told The Hindu that the committee acts as a bridge between the school management and the students.
If the girls have some problems, they bring it to the notice of the Principal or the class teacher.
“While the girl students studying in the primary schools are allowed to wear skirts, the high school girls are mandated to wear only comfortable pants and shirts,” Ms. Mulla said.
She said that an error-free GPRS system has been installed in the school bus operated by the school. Besides keeping a tab on the speed of the bus and the number of stops made, the GPRS system is embedded with a system to alert the school authorities if the bus deviates from the allotted route within ten minutes.
The entire school is under the watch of electronic eye with the CCTVs installed at all locations to keep a watch over the activities in the school. Lakshmi, a class 9 student, said, “I feel safe as the entire school is under the constant watch and my school bus is under the error-free GPRS coverage to ensure my safe travel to the school and back daily.”
The principal said, “I will get an SMS alert if the school bus deviates from the allotted route which enables me to enquire with the driver as to why this has happened. Another feature of the GPRS system is that the parents, with internet facility on their mobile phones, can track the movement of the bus with a password provided by the school management.
To ensure the safety of students and better upkeep of their health, the school does not allow any vendor to sell cut fruits or other eatables on pushcarts near the school. The school gate always remains locked. There is a coffee shop, where healthy snacks are served at cost price, which the students can access during the breaks.
