The provincial government has begun installing Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and connecting them to the Safe City Authority's network in order to secure public and private schools.

Till now, installation work has been completed in 48 schools.

Tariq Mehmood, Chief Executive Officer of the District Education Authority, informed Dawn that there were 133 private schools and 162 public schools. He stated that the CCTV cameras will be linked to the Safe City network for continuous observation.

According to him, the schools were classified as A plus and A. "Schools with more than 500 students but fewer than 2000 are included in the A category, while schools with more than 2000 students have been placed in the A plus category," he stated.

Forty-eight government schools are now connected to the Safe City network, and Safe City Authority staff will monitor security cameras at boundary walls and entry and exit gates.

He said that the initiative was started as part of the Punjab government's Safe Punjab project to protect pupils. On Monday, December 22, schools began their winter break; they will reopen on January 11.

All 162 public and 133 private schools will have the work finished by Safe City Authority representatives at this time. In both public and private schools, surveillance teams have been established, and they will begin working in tandem with the Safe City Authority, he stated.

The integration of CCTV cameras with the safe city network will greatly enhance the monitoring system and provide a more secure environment throughout the province, a senior official from the Punjab Safe City Authority told Dawn.