Rawalpindi Directorate of Colleges has asked the provincial higher education department to allocate Rs 60 million to make security arrangements for 97 colleges in the district, as directed by the provincial government.
After the Peshawar school attack, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had directed educational institutions to beef up security by raising the boundary walls of college premises and deployment of guards.
The directorate says the amount is required for the purchase of walk-through gates, metal detectors, construction of barriers, raising the boundary walls and placement of barbed wires on the walls.
On the other hand, the Punjab government has approved recruitment of security guards for government-run schools in the province, including Rawalpindi district. According to details, the guards would be appointed on contract basis initially for six months and posted at primary, middle and higher secondary schools. Each guard would reportedly be paid Rs 15,000 per month.
It is also learnt that closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras would also be installed at most of the schools.
Though preference would be given to appoint security guards from amongst retired armed forces officials, arrangements are being made for their training in order to enhance their capacity to deal with any emergency. They would be given exercise in firing, Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) and dealing with any emergency.
