Gordon Brown devises security plan for Pakistani schools

Published February 17, 2015
Former British premier Gordon Brown. - Reuters/File
Former British premier Gordon Brown. - Reuters/File

United Nations Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown on Tuesday proposed a plan for school security in Pakistan including improved safety measures, said a report published on the BBC.

The former British premier held talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to make schools safer in the wake of the Peshawar school attack which left more than 150 students and faculty members dead.

Mr Brown stated that he wants to help schools "stand up to terrorist violence". His proposal was followed by an agreement with Premier Nawaz to improve the security situation of schools.

Read: Militant siege of Peshawar school ends, 141 killed

The proposal included safety measures such as armed guards, metal detectors, security fences, emergency communication systems and more.

Peace Zones

The security plan being promoted by Mr Brown was devised by the education charity, World at School, focusing on the best safety practices being used in parts of Pakistan or conflict zones in other countries.

The practice calls for creating peace zones around schools in negotiation with the local community and religious leaders. There are also proposals for a systematic approach to safety including security checkpoints, boundary walls and razor wire. The proposals also call for strategic placement of armed guards on vantage points like rooftops.

Concern over school transport was also raised and calls for buses to be checked daily for explosive devices. The report further says that if schools are attacked, there must be a way of quickly calling for assistance and alerting other schools.

Education under attack

The safety proposals also suggested that smaller schools in isolated area could be brought closer or moved to areas where better security can be provided.

The UN envoy also called upon the international community to help fund security improvements for schools. According to Mr Brown, measures to make schools safer will "reassure parents and pupils that everything is being done to counter extremist threats".

A spokesperson for PM Nawaz "reiterated his personal commitment" to working with Brown to improve the security of children in school.

There has also been a rise in deliberate attacks on schools and colleges in Nigeria as well by Boko Haram extremists.

Later this year, the UN envoy is expected to support international proposals to give schools and places of education a protected status during military operations.

According to the Office of Gordon and Sarah Brown, the UN envoy said: “In the year 2015 every boy and girl should be at school, safely, and no one should be prevented from an education. We cannot stand by and see more children too afraid to learn and schools shut down. Even in the world’s most dangerous places we must now establish the right of all children to schooling and make a new idea of ‘education without borders’ a reality.”

Education in Pakistan has suffered more attacks than any other country. In the last five years, there have been more than a thousand attacks on schools in Khyber Pakhtunkha alone.

Opinion

Editorial

Wheat price crash
Updated 20 May, 2024

Wheat price crash

What the government has done to Punjab’s smallholder wheat growers by staying out of the market amid crashing prices is deplorable.
Afghan corruption
20 May, 2024

Afghan corruption

AMONGST the reasons that the Afghan Taliban marched into Kabul in August 2021 without any resistance to speak of ...
Volleyball triumph
20 May, 2024

Volleyball triumph

IN the last week, while Pakistan’s cricket team savoured a come-from-behind T20 series victory against Ireland,...
Border clashes
19 May, 2024

Border clashes

THE Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier has witnessed another series of flare-ups, this time in the Kurram tribal district...
Penalising the dutiful
19 May, 2024

Penalising the dutiful

DOES the government feel no remorse in burdening honest citizens with the cost of its own ineptitude? With the ...
Students in Kyrgyzstan
Updated 19 May, 2024

Students in Kyrgyzstan

The govt ought to take a direct approach comprising convincing communication with the students and Kyrgyz authorities.