Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday launched the AAP government’s CCTV project for classrooms under which CCTV cameras will be installed inside the classrooms of all Delhi government schools.

Kejriwal and Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who also handles the education portfolio, inaugurated the scheme at Shaheed Hemu Kalani Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Lajpat Nagar here.

Speaking on the occasion, Kejriwal claimed that this Delhi government school has become the first in the world where parents could access live CCTV feeds of their children studying in classrooms.

This is the first Delhi government school where CCTVs have been installed not only inside the campus but also inside all the classrooms with a view to enhancing security in the school.

The CM said all the Delhi government schools will have CCTVs inside the classrooms by November this year.

“Today is a historic day not just for the country but also for the world. There are many schools in various countries in the world where CCTV cameras are being installed, but perhaps this is the first instance where live feeds from every classroom are being provided to the parents through a mobile app,” said the AAP chief.

“The installation of CCTV cameras with live access to feeds for the parents is happening for the first time,” Kejriwal said.

Highlighting the “struggle” the AAP government went through in order to implement this scheme, the CM said, “The Opposition tried its best to scuttle this project. They tried to create all kinds of fears in the minds of people, created obstacles, and even filed a case against it in the High Court. But we believed what we were doing was the right thing to do. We believed this project will provide our children with better security, improve the quality of education and build a better future for them. Most importantly, the parents who send their children to our government schools will also feel a sense of security”.

Kejriwal said: “CCTVs have not only served to give us important evidence needed to nab culprits and ensure strict punishment for them but have also created a system of deterrence and helped in providing security”.

He said, “In today’s environment when children step outside their homes, parents are anxious about whether their child will return home safely or not. With this CCTV project, they can check during the day whether their child is safe inside the classroom or not.”

Kejriwal also said, “I just visited a six-year-old survivor of a heinous rape case at Safdarjung Hospital. There are some perverted elements in society who have no fear of any consequences. A CCTV camera in the vicinity captured the crime and the culprit was caught within a few hours. If he had known his act was being recorded by a CCTV camera, perhaps he would not have committed the crime.”

On the impact of the project on the quality of education, the Delhi CM said, “There are some mischievous children in schools who disturb all other children. Some who leave home for school, but skip their classes. Now, these activities can be curbed”.

Explaining the rationale behind installing CCTVs in classrooms, Sisodia said, “All of you remember that a child died in a private school almost two years ago, and the police investigation into the matter is still on. That’s when the Chief Minister directed the installation of CCTVs in government school classrooms. First, we installed CCTVs inside the school campus. In the meantime, another accident occurred where one of our teachers was killed. That incident happened inside a classroom.”

Sisodia also said: “Government school teachers often face allegations of absenteeism from classrooms. Now no one will be able to wrongly accuse teachers of skipping classes.”