Keeping kids safe at school is big business in NCR
, ET Bureau|
Sep 23, 2017, 01.08 AM IST
MUMBAI: Security companies such as Pinkerton India have been fielding a sudden rush of calls from schools in the national capital region following a spate of attacks on children that have shocked parents into demanding action. That’s why Pinkerton’s Rohit Karnatak will be making a presentation over the weekend to about 100 principals at Delhi-NCR’s leading schools on how to ensure institutes are protected from all possible threats.
Given the current demand, Pinkerton India is likely to end up adding 40-50 schools as clients in September alone, a sharp hike.
“Earlier, schools constituted barely 1% of our total client base in India,” said Karnatak, managing director, India, APAC & EMEA (global screening).
“Now, for the past few days, all our team is doing is giving presentations to schools. There is huge pressure as schools realise existing security measures can no longer be taken for granted.”
For others in the security space, it’s a similar story. With concerns over students’ safety spiking in the wake of a seven-year-old boy’s killing in Gurgaon’s Ryan International School, experts at background verification firms such as SecUR Credentials, solutions providers like Topsgrup and startups like Evoxyz Technologies that offer real-time alerting devices say they have seen a fourfold jump in queries from schools, playschools and anxious parents.
Even schools that already have adequate security systems are roping in experts. This is a product of several factors such as increased pressure from parents, state government diktats and the fact that management can be held liable for such attacks. The security providers declined to name the schools that have approached them to help strengthen existing systems.
“Child safety as a concept was not addressed properly earlier,” said Shilpa Mahna Bhatnagar, CEO of Gurgaon-based startup Evoxyz Technologies. “It was mostly about surveillance, which tended to come into play often once damage had been done.
Now parents are demanding stringent safety measures and schools are compelled to deliver.” The company’s EvoTag Bluetooth device ensures that children can be tracked in real time in all indoor locations, even in areas where CCTV surveillance is not possible, sending alerts to the school safety department.
The EvoSchool App provides school authorities and parents with location alerts, location logs and attendance prompts “We have seen a 150% increase in enquiries in the last couple of weeks alone,” said Bhatnagar. From three schools in 2015 and 16 in 2016, she said the company will have 60 schools on board by the year-end, marking a nearly fourfold increase over last year.
Given the current demand, Pinkerton India is likely to end up adding 40-50 schools as clients in September alone, a sharp hike.
“Earlier, schools constituted barely 1% of our total client base in India,” said Karnatak, managing director, India, APAC & EMEA (global screening).
“Now, for the past few days, all our team is doing is giving presentations to schools. There is huge pressure as schools realise existing security measures can no longer be taken for granted.”
For others in the security space, it’s a similar story. With concerns over students’ safety spiking in the wake of a seven-year-old boy’s killing in Gurgaon’s Ryan International School, experts at background verification firms such as SecUR Credentials, solutions providers like Topsgrup and startups like Evoxyz Technologies that offer real-time alerting devices say they have seen a fourfold jump in queries from schools, playschools and anxious parents.
Even schools that already have adequate security systems are roping in experts. This is a product of several factors such as increased pressure from parents, state government diktats and the fact that management can be held liable for such attacks. The security providers declined to name the schools that have approached them to help strengthen existing systems.
“Child safety as a concept was not addressed properly earlier,” said Shilpa Mahna Bhatnagar, CEO of Gurgaon-based startup Evoxyz Technologies. “It was mostly about surveillance, which tended to come into play often once damage had been done.
Now parents are demanding stringent safety measures and schools are compelled to deliver.” The company’s EvoTag Bluetooth device ensures that children can be tracked in real time in all indoor locations, even in areas where CCTV surveillance is not possible, sending alerts to the school safety department.
The EvoSchool App provides school authorities and parents with location alerts, location logs and attendance prompts “We have seen a 150% increase in enquiries in the last couple of weeks alone,” said Bhatnagar. From three schools in 2015 and 16 in 2016, she said the company will have 60 schools on board by the year-end, marking a nearly fourfold increase over last year.
