District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal on Thursday ordered the shutdown of Gyandeep Vidayalaya (Phulwarsharif) and DAV Public School (Indrapuri) until CCTVs are installed on their premises.

Agarwal cracked the whip at a meeting called at the Collectorate conference hall to take stock of security and safety norms of students in the wake of the murder of seven-year-old Pradyuman Thakur at Gurgaon's Ryan International School last week. 'With my order, Gyandeep Vidayalaya and DAV Public School are closed and will open only after they install CCTVs on their premises,' the district magistrate (DM) said. On the request of representatives of the two schools, the DM allowed examinations to take place there, but no regular classes. 'There cannot be any compromise with students' safety.'

Altogether 150 private schools - including St Michael's High School, Notre Dame Academy, St Joseph's Convent High School, Mt Carmel High School, Don Bosco Academy, St Xavier's High School and Delhi Public School - attended the meeting.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaaj and Patna traffic superintendent of police P.K. Das, too, accompanied the DM at the meet.

The DM also issued an order asking the schools to install a complaint box for parents within a week. He said that many a time parents wanted to make suggestions but could not do so out of fear. 'I want all schools to install a complaint or suggestion box for parents,' Agarwal said. 'Install the box within a week. The keys to the box would remain with the respective principals and every time it is opened it should be video-graphed.'

On September 12 itself most private schools in Patna and the district were provided a questionnaire in which they had to provide information to the administration on availability of closed-circuit television cameras, security guards and their training, disaster-fight measures, fire extinguishers, GPS-enabled buses and records of school bus drivers and conductors. On Thursday all schools turned up with answers in the asked format.

The DM said the CCTV should be installed in a way that it covers the entire campus, including passage and corridors as per CBSE norms. He also asked the school management not to allow drivers and conductors inside the school premises. 'There should be a separate rest room and toilet for the bus driver and conductor outside the school,' Agarwal said.

The Patna DM also announced formation of four two-member teams, including a police officer and a magistrate, to make random inspections at the school.

'We have made four such teams and they will inspect schools from tomorrow (Friday) itself. We cannot just rely on the format they have submitted on safety and security norms,' Agarwal said. 'If any school is seen to be not following norms during the inspection, strict action would be taken. I will even recommend the CBSE and ICSE to cancel their affiliation.'

He asked the private school management not to ignore incidents, especially criminal in nature. The school managements were told to inform them about cases of child sexual exploitation and action would be taken as per Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso Act).

The meeting lasted an hour and 15 minutes during which a few schools also described how they are giving extra facilities to students but the DM said the meeting was only about safety and security.

St Michael's High School principal Father Armstrong Edison appreciated the meeting and said such meetings should be held regularly to improve safety measures in schools.

'It was a good meeting. Both children and parents should feel safe,' Edison said. 'It is our duty to ensure children are safe in the school and also reach their homes safely. Such meetings should be conducted more often. I am happy that he has decided to inspect the schools.'

CBSE regional officer for Patna, Lakhan Lal Meena, was also present at the meeting. He asked the private school management to send video footage every two months so that happenings at the schools can be monitored.

SSP Maharaaj asked school managements to carry out police verification of bus drivers and conductors apart from police verification of the buses. Without naming any school, Maharaaj said one school had a bus that had been stolen from Odisha. He also expressed his disappointment at most schools for not carrying out police verification of their bus drivers and conductors. The traffic issue was also discussed at the meeting. Traffic superintendent of police Das said he would do at his best and sought the cooperation from schools to streamline traffic near schools.