School managements in Bangalore on Wednesday came together to express discontent over guidelines proposed by police.
Terming them impractical, several school associations said they would start implementing them only after consulting the education department.
The association also hinted at a 10-15% increase in fee if they're forced to implement it.
"We were not consulted when the guidelines were framed. It was a top-down approach. Most of them aren't practical. It isn't feasible to get CCTVs and GPS on buses. The guidelines call for a lady conductor in all school buses. We need more men and material. Let the government implement them first in government schools and show us.We'll follow suit," said LR Shivarame Gowda, chairman, Karnataka Private School Joint Action Committee.
While schools say they are keen on making the environment safer for children, they aren't convinced about the current guidelines.
"The financial implications are large. It'll cost me 15-20% over my budget. We're already bogged down by the RTE quota," said Gowda.
"To implement them, the fee would have to be increased by 10%-15%" said Shashi Kumar, organizing secretary, Karnataka State Private Schools Management Federation.
"The implications on a child's psyche also shouldn't be forgotten. They will lose their childhood, and have to live in fear as they're always under surveillance," said M Srinivasan, representing CBSE and ICSE schools. The associations also came down heavily on school chains which don't adhere to the affiliation process. "The East Bangalore school didn't have affiliation for many years.The education department should be cracking down on them," said Gowda.
They also said all schools are being painted with the same brush because of one incident in a private school.
