Apart from implementing discipline in schools, many school authorities feel that security is also becoming an issue even among students.

On December 11 last year, for instance, two students shot dead a classmate in a fit of anger in a Gurgaon school. In Satna, Madhya Pradesh, a 15-year-old boy shot at a junior on the school premises on January 3. “We are looking at the option of installing CCTVs, especially in the area outside toilets where students meet. The Gurgaon incident has brought to light the fact that these days students may even have access to firearms,” says Seema Sapru, principal of Heritage School, which has 2,400 students. But she adds that school authorities have been pondering over this option for quite a while now as some students tend to carry mobile phones, holi colours and crackers to school.

South Point High School, which has 5,000 students in its senior wing, is all set to install CCTVs. “Within a month we are going to install about 60 CCTVs in all common areas of the school. The access rights will be given to a few administrative heads,” confirmed a school spokesperson.

La Martiniere for Boys is also planning the move. Principal Sunirmol Chakraborty, however, feels that CCTVs cannot be a preventive measure. “They can only help record events as and when something goes wrong. We don’t plan to monitor the students all the time.”

Most parents feel it is a good step. “Children should not feel that they are being watched all the time, otherwise it is a good way to know what is happening in the school as it is not possible to watch every child,” said the mother of a DPS student. Certain parents also feel that behavioural issues can be addressed by the use of CCTVs. They say Rowdiness and truancy can also be controlled in a similar manner.