NEW DELHI: The Directorate of Education (DoE) rolled out a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP) to tackle bomb threats in schools, officials said. The directive comes after guidelines from the Delhi high court, aligning with guidelines of ministry of education, Govern ment of India, Delhi Police and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The 115-point SOP, also seen by HT, has been formulated to institutionalise preventive and responsive measures for schools functioning under the Delhi government including government aided, minority and recognised unaided private schools. Each school can create its own threat management plan tailored to its layout and resources.
According to the new direct ive, schools must conduct regu lar mock drills, install surveil lance systems, and maintain strict access control. "Heads of schools will lead emergency responses, coordinating with police, fire services, and disaster management teams. Further, teachers will receive training to guide evacuations, while stu-dents are supposed to follow safety protocols and report sus picious activities," Mohinder Pal, additional director of education, stated in the order.
"Every threat will be treated as real until proven otherwise," the SOP stated, adding that schools must avoid panic and immediately alert authorities upon receiving a bomb threat.
Delhi Police will cordon off affected areas, manage crowds, and assess threats, while fire services remain on standby. Traffic police will have to ensure clear routes for emergency vehicles, as per the SOP. It also includes warnings against hoax threats and mentions that legal action will be taken against those responsible for false alarms.
The SOP appoints the head of the school as the incident man-ager and outlines their responsi-bilities across four critical pha-ses. "Prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery are the crucial points. The plan equips us to lead with both authority and accountability," Rajesh Kumar Gupta, principal of the Government Boys Senior Sec-ondary School, Model Town said.
Meanwhile, some private schools stated that most requi-sites mentioned in the SOP are already in place. Sudha Acharya, principal of ITL Public School, Dwarka said, "A school disaster management committee, com-prising all key stakeholders, reg-ularly sensitises students about safety measures to be imple-mented when faced by such situ-ations," she said.
Parents association pointed that many government schools do not even possess basic infra-structure facilities required in such situation. "There is a huge lag between orders issued and its implementation, there should be an orderly way to track if these changes are implemented," Aparajita Gautam, president of the Delhi Parents Association said.
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