North 24 Parganas has issued safety guidelines requiring schools and madrasas to prevent stray dogs from entering their premises and to coordinate with local authorities to reduce risks to students. The directive was issued by the office of the District Inspector of Schools (Secondary) after complaints about stray dogs on or near school campuses.
The district education authorities said the instructions are based on earlier directions from the Supreme Court and an order issued by the state school education commissioner. All heads of schools and madrasas in the district have been told to comply with the guidelines strictly.
Under the directive, each institution’s designated nodal teacher must discuss the issue with the head of the school and take prompt protective measures. Schools have also been instructed to remain in contact with the local block administration or designated personnel of the relevant municipality for controlling the presence of dogs on school premises.
The order places responsibility for immediate coordination at the school level while also involving local administrative bodies. It does not treat the issue as one that schools must manage alone. The district education office has asked officials in the Bongaon and Basirhat subdivisions, along with all school inspectors, to monitor whether the instructions are being followed properly.
The guidelines are to be implemented in accordance with the standard operating procedure and specific guidelines of Animal Husbandry of India, as cited in the directive. The stated objective is to ensure that there is no gap in the overall safety of students during school hours.
The order follows reports of stray or ownerless dogs attacking students on school campuses and causing serious injuries in different parts of the country. The report cited an incident in Balasore, Odisha, where a Class III student was bitten on the finger and other parts of the body by a stray dog while going to a bathroom inside the school premises. It also referred to an incident at a government primary school in Siswal village in Haryana’s Hisar district, where a dog entered a classroom and bit six students.
Another incident cited in the report involved a school in Nagrakata, Jalpaiguri, where several dogs were seen moving around students during the mid-day meal. The dogs reportedly gathered around young children while being attracted by food, raising concerns about the possibility of an accident.
For North 24 Parganas schools, the directive creates a monitoring chain linking school heads and nodal teachers with block administrations, municipalities and education inspectors. The district’s additional district inspectors in Bongaon and Basirhat, together with school inspectors, have been asked to oversee compliance with the instructions.
