Smaller Schools: Soft Targets for Terrorists only?

Pakistani nation was mourning the 43rd anniversary of the Fall of Dhaka on 16th of December, 2014 when the terrorists stormed into an Army school in Peshawar and ruthlessly killed about one hundred and fifty school children, along with their mentors. This was another black day in the history of this country, yet the date was no different. The blood of these innocents showed the path to unity for the whole country. Still the entire nation, as its leadership is struggling to find means for securing the future of the country. The foremost challenge is how to guard the young blood?

Soon after the Peshawar attack, government announced winter vacations till 5th January 2015 and later on the vacations were extended for another week. In fact these vacations were in response to the threats terrorists had given to the scores of other educational institutes. These threats have further terrorized the innocent souls.

Now, government has given a deadline to all the schools of the country, public as well as private, to take immediate security measures. If we take only Punjab, here are almost hundred and fifty thousand schools in which twenty million children study (are studying). So far (as) the government schools are concerned, at least government does take some responsibility in financing them. But the owners of those private schools, especially the smaller ones, are having severe headache as how to cope with this new challenge?

Government has ordered all the educational institutes to build and maintain boundary walls; mend the gates; install walk-through gates, cctv cameras and also sandbags outside the main entrances. Other than these, metal-detectors and most importantly recruitment of security guards for each and every school, college and university have been ordered. Obviously, all these things cannot be done overnight. According to a report 78% of all the schools in Punjab only, have still improper security measures, even after these extended winter vacations. Not only the business of private schools owners is at stake, but also their very existence, after the threats. Especially, the smaller schools have much worse conditions. From one side there are threats from terrorists, then the government is pressing to take immediate security measures, and lastly the dealers of these security instruments have started monopoly by increasing their prices twice or thrice.

Those who are at risk are compelled to buy these things at the increased prices, and like each and every time economic beneficiaries have shown their real faces once again. But the question is whether government would take any action against this mafia or will it punish only weak criminals, as has always happened in the past.