site.btaInterior Ministry Plans Measures to Improve Security in Schools

Interior Ministry Plans Measures to Improve Security in Schools

Sofia, March 28 (BTA) - The Interior Ministry has planned measures to improve security in schools, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Meglena Kuneva said Monday. She was speaking to journalists after a meeting on security in schools and kindergartens, held at the Council of Ministers. The meeting took place after several incidents of violence among school children, by school children or against teachers in various parts of Bulgaria.

Participating in the meeting were deputy ministers of the interior, justice, youth and sport, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, representatives of the National Association of Municipalities, MPs and parent organizations.

Kuneva said that a follow-up meeting will be held with school headmasters in two weeksТ time.

A proposal was made at the Monday meeting to set up mobile groups, which would respond to alerts, particularly in small schools, said the Minister.

The Penal Code contains texts, which define encroachments on teachers as criminal offence, she added.

Fandakova said security has several aspects including non-admission of external people to schools and kindergartens and security in these closed communities.

In Sofia, 105 schools and 99 kindergartens (over 50 per cent) are equipped with CCTV systems, all educational establishments are linked to the centralized Alarm and Security System (SOT) of the police and 95 are physically guarded.

Statistics shows that the installation of CCTV cameras reduces offences by 80 per cent, said Fandakova.

This year the Sofia Municipality will invest 1.4 million leva in CCTV equipment for 53 schools and kindergartens, the Mayor said. The discussion on whether school yards should be closed to external access is still open. Yards equipped with cameras are being watched even during the weekends, she noted. Allocations for childrenТs security are envisaged in the schoolsТ delegated budgets. The question is whether they are enough and whether they reach small educational establishments, she commented.