<p>It was business as usual at Vibgyor High School in Kundanahalli, a day after a leopard entered the premises and attacked and injured a few people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>There was, however, a general air of anxiety among parents and students apparent from the fact that 20 per cent of the students chose to stay at home on Monday.<br /><br />Srinivasa Sasidhar, a parent whose child studies in Grade 1, stays very close the school. He was at the school on Sunday. “As a parent, I’m definitely concerned. However, I was quite confident that the situation would be brought under control. Unfortunately, my child was not able to attend classes today due to some other reason. But I dropped off my cousin’s daughter and everything seemed fine,” he said. <br /><br />There were other parents who were concerned about things like the cleanliness of the school after the operation and concerns about rumours doing the rounds. A parent who did not want to be named said: “I heard that as many as three leopards escaped from Bannerghatta and the other two have not been caught yet.”<br /><br />Preparedness of the school in case of another similar situation arising was also a point of concern among parents and this has been taken up with the management, said a member of the school’s parent-teacher association.<br /><br />Asked about such concerns, Roshan D’Souza, principal of the school, said: “We already have the necessary security measures implemented in the school – CCTV cameras, security guards at every gate and also inside the school. To ensure further safety, we will request the forest department to guide us on the necessary safety measures and we will implement them to prevent such incidents in the future.”<br /><br />A number of schools on the outskirts of the City, near forests or thick vegetation, are worried and are contemplating measures to try and prevent such situations. Inventure Academy in Chikkavaderapura had its own share of encounter with the wild in 2013 when a herd of elephants visited the school. Since then, the school has taken a number of measures. “The school has around 20 to 30 entries. We have security at each of these exits. Besides, we have put more grills and fencing. The biggest need I believe is to create more awareness about wild animals and their habitats,” said Nooraine Fazal, chief executive officer and co-founder of the school. <br /><br />Satish Jayarajan, principal, Mallya Aditi, Yelahanka, said: “The incident was quite scary. So far as our school is concerned, we have just discussed the issue internally. We recognise that we may have to take precautions.”<br /></p>
<p>It was business as usual at Vibgyor High School in Kundanahalli, a day after a leopard entered the premises and attacked and injured a few people.<br /><br /></p>.<p>There was, however, a general air of anxiety among parents and students apparent from the fact that 20 per cent of the students chose to stay at home on Monday.<br /><br />Srinivasa Sasidhar, a parent whose child studies in Grade 1, stays very close the school. He was at the school on Sunday. “As a parent, I’m definitely concerned. However, I was quite confident that the situation would be brought under control. Unfortunately, my child was not able to attend classes today due to some other reason. But I dropped off my cousin’s daughter and everything seemed fine,” he said. <br /><br />There were other parents who were concerned about things like the cleanliness of the school after the operation and concerns about rumours doing the rounds. A parent who did not want to be named said: “I heard that as many as three leopards escaped from Bannerghatta and the other two have not been caught yet.”<br /><br />Preparedness of the school in case of another similar situation arising was also a point of concern among parents and this has been taken up with the management, said a member of the school’s parent-teacher association.<br /><br />Asked about such concerns, Roshan D’Souza, principal of the school, said: “We already have the necessary security measures implemented in the school – CCTV cameras, security guards at every gate and also inside the school. To ensure further safety, we will request the forest department to guide us on the necessary safety measures and we will implement them to prevent such incidents in the future.”<br /><br />A number of schools on the outskirts of the City, near forests or thick vegetation, are worried and are contemplating measures to try and prevent such situations. Inventure Academy in Chikkavaderapura had its own share of encounter with the wild in 2013 when a herd of elephants visited the school. Since then, the school has taken a number of measures. “The school has around 20 to 30 entries. We have security at each of these exits. Besides, we have put more grills and fencing. The biggest need I believe is to create more awareness about wild animals and their habitats,” said Nooraine Fazal, chief executive officer and co-founder of the school. <br /><br />Satish Jayarajan, principal, Mallya Aditi, Yelahanka, said: “The incident was quite scary. So far as our school is concerned, we have just discussed the issue internally. We recognise that we may have to take precautions.”<br /></p>
