
Delhi students anxious after mock drill, schools & parents say sensitisation must: ‘Kids afraid when they're not prepared'
Across hundreds of Delhi schools, sirens, blackouts and lockdown routines on Wednesday played out as part of a government-mandated exercise in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam attack — but for many young children, the drills sparked anxiety more than awareness.
Parents and school principals, left to pick up the emotional pieces, now urge for more sensitive communication and preparation to help children process what they saw and felt.
Karan Aggarwal, whose daughter studies in Class 1 at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, Lodhi Estate, said his daughter returned home after the drill, visibly shaken.
'Fight hone wali hain (There is going to be a fight) was all she could understand… She had coaxed me to go to Kashmir for summer vacations. I insisted, 'We cannot go… it is unsafe'. So, she realised something was wrong.'
Maintaining that confusion loomed heavily among parents in the lead-up to the mock drill, Aggarwal said 'sensitising children to emergencies is critical', especially keeping in mind their mental state.
After the mock drill, the school sent an email to all parents listing out useful techniques. (see box)
'The current environment has induced a state of vigilance, uncertainty and distress for all. While as adults, we are able to communicate, search for concrete information, and use our resources to calm ourselves, it is challenging for children to express feelings they have not felt before,' it stated.
'There is a sense of urgency being translated as worry to children,' it added.
The email also noted that sirens and blackouts, though necessary, left 'young children with many unanswered questions'. Informing that the school authorities 'sensed children's anxiety and tried to address it through reassuring conversations', it suggested that the parents should exercise caution.
The mother of a 7-year-old daughter studying at Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Vidya Mandir (SSRVM) in Noida also shared deep reservations. 'Unfortunately, the drill had a noticeable negative impact on my daughter's mental well-being, and as a parent, it is deeply concerning,' she said.
A senior official from the SSRVM administration told The Indian Express that at least three complaints have been received from parents about how their children had reacted to the mock drill. 'We are providing counselling to those children. The students were briefed by the principal and also by their respective class teacher,' the official said, adding that they had not sent any prior notice to parents about the drill.
Salil Bhatia from South Delhi, whose two children study in Class 2 and Class 4 at Delhi Public School, East of Kailash, said 'communication is the key'. He said that while no official intimation about the mock drill was sent to parents from the school, the responsibility of keeping one's children up-to-date falls on the parents, which should be part of their 'normal routine conversations'.
Early Wednesday, Bhatia had switched on the TV and showed his children scenes of the Indian Armed Forces striking 9 sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, as they launched 'Operation Sindoor'.
'I deliberately switched on the TV when my children were getting ready for school. I told them… 'We (the Indian government) have to fight the terrorists. They are bad people',' he said.
To Bhatia's surprise, after the mock drill was held in the school, his children came up excitedly to him. 'My younger son told me… his classmates were all chatting under the table while they took shelter during the drill. I had to hold back my laughter and explain: 'It is a very serious scenario. You cannot talk like that during emergencies'.'
'If parents calmly explain to their children about the current developments, then they won't be frightened. Children get afraid only when they are unprepared… It is the parents' fault. We need to sensitise and inform our children,' he added.
Richa Sharma Agnihotri, Principal at Sanskriti School, Chanakyapuri, told The Indian Express: 'We communicated with the parents before and after the mock drill. The parent representatives of each class and the PTA (Parent Teacher Association) members in the school were sent an email on conducting such a mock drill. After it was held… we issued a circular reinforcing the need for parents to communicate with their children at home, as well.'
Dr Bhavna Barmi, senior clinical psychologist at Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, said in emergency scenarios, especially drills involving potential threats, it is critical to remember that children up to Class 5 are still developing cognitively and emotionally.
'Their perception of danger is vastly different from that of older children or adults. Sudden exposure to mock drills — alarms, lockdowns, or simulations — without age-appropriate explanation can easily trigger anxiety, confusion, or fear responses in them,' she added.
Dr Barmi suggested pre-drill sensitisation in simple language, adult modelling and reassurance, post-drill check-ins, involvement of parents, use of familiar analogies and therapeutic play tools to deal with such situations.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
Delhi University admissions: Fewer tie-breakers used this year due to ‘normalised' CUET scores
This year, Delhi University (DU) has relied far less on tie-breaking rules while allocating seats to undergraduate applicants under the Common Seat Allocation System (CSAS), with officials attributing the shift to the National Testing Agency (NTA) providing 'normalised' Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores up to seven decimal points instead of 'raw' scores, The Indian Express has learnt. 'Last year, the CUET scores provided by NTA were raw, and we had to apply tie-breaking criteria in many cases,' a senior DU official told The Indian Express. 'But this year, because of the precision of normalised scores, it became easier to allocate seats purely on CUET scores. Tie-breakers were used only in a few cases.' Raw scores are initial marks obtained in each subject of the CUET, before normalisation or percentile calculation is undertaken. Last year, if two students had the same CUET score for a particular course and college, DU had to dig deeper — compare their Class 12 marks, check their age, and in some cases, even go by whose name came first alphabetically — to decide who would get the seat. This was because the scores shared by the NTA were raw, with overlaps being common. But this year, the NTA gave scores precise to 7 decimal points — for example, 741.7355297 — which made it far less likely for two students to have exactly the same score. This meant DU could simply go by the CUET score in most cases, without needing to fall back on tie-breakers. While DU has over 71,000 undergraduate seats, it has allocated 93,166 seats so far, suggesting that internal shifting and re-allocations will take place in subsequent rounds, as seen in earlier admission cycles. As of Monday evening, 80,015 students had accepted their allocations, and 31,088 applications had been approved by respective college principals. In response to last year's challenges, DU had revised its tie-breaking criteria for the 2025-26 admissions. The alphabetical order of names, which was earlier the last resort, has now been replaced with Class 10 marks. 'Until last year, we were working with raw data and, in some cases, had to allocate seats alphabetically,' Haneet Gandhi, DU's Dean of Admissions, had told The Indian Express earlier. 'This year, we wanted a more rational and merit-based approach. So, we decided to use Class 10 marks. We take the average of all subjects to break ties. This ensures that meritorious students are considered without fail.' In contrast, last year and in 2023, the alphabetical order of names was used in some cases as the final tie-breaking step. In 2023, The Indian Express had reported that DU had to rely more on tie breakers when compared to 2022, attributing this 'to higher CUET scores in 2023 as compared to 2022, which resulted in an increase in competition'. Meanwhile, four years into the CUET-based admission process, BCom (Hons) continues to be the most sought-after programme at DU. The top college preference for BCom (Hons) remains Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC). 'We have allocated all our seats and are done with our admission process,' SRCC Principal Simrit Kaur said on Tuesday. At Miranda House, North Campus, Principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda said, 'We have almost filled all our seats and will be completing the remaining admissions very soon.' The college had received 1,482 applications by Tuesday evening, of which 1,360 had been approved and 12 rejected. The most in-demand subjects were Economics, Political Science, English, and Hindi. Kirori Mal College Principal Dinesh Khattar said, 'We have almost filled all our seats. These were over 1,500 seats, and admissions will positively be closed by tonight for our college.' This year, DU has received over 3.05 lakh undergraduate registrations — the highest since CUET was introduced for UG admissions.


Deccan Herald
a day ago
- Deccan Herald
SSRVM honours teachers through Guru Puja
Students of Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidya Mandir, Vignan Nagar, came together for Guru Purnima by performing a traditional Guru Puja. The ritual, in line with Guruji's teachings, was a heartfelt expression of gratitude to those who impart knowledge and inspire spiritual growth.


Indian Express
a day ago
- Indian Express
MANS launches intercaste, interfaith matchmaking service
Slain rationalist and anti superstition crusader Dr Narendra Dabholkar used to say, 'caste is one of the biggest superstitions'. And on Tuesday when Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), founded by Dr Dabholkar, launched its interfaith and intercaste matchmaking service in Maharashtra, it took a step towards giving his vision a new dimension, said his son Dr Hamid. The unique, free matchmaking service is an expansion of an existing initiative of MANS of running a safe house for intercaste and interfaith marriage couples at Satara. 'The idea of launching an intercaste and interfaith matchmaking service started taking shape around six months ago. Since it is a service of a sensitive nature, we took time to do the groundwork and we are finally launching it today,' said Dr Hamid speaking to The Indian Express. 'As Dr Narendra Dabholkar believed that caste was a major form of superstition, MANS has actively worked on this issue. Our fight and efforts for a legislative framework against caste panchayats, facilitating intercaste and interfaith wedding ceremonies and the initiative of a safe house for interfaith and intercaste marriage couples, are in keeping with his vision,' said Dr Hamid. A press statement from MANS issued in this regard on Tuesday read, 'On the back of the atmosphere of rifts in castes and religions, finding a life partner beyond these boundaries has become extremely difficult for those who genuinely wish to do so. MANS has launched a state-level interfaith and intercaste matchmaking service as a constructive initiative to bring down these social walls.' 'The service will facilitate intercaste, interfaith marriage including those of widow-widower and those who have divorced. Those seeking to get married are requested to send their detailed information to the centre's coordinators: Shankar Kanse, Pimpri, Taluka Koregaon, District Satara – contact: 99223 55435 and Dr Dnyandev Sarvade, Baramati – contact: 95277 21475 to avail the service.' the release stated. 'At this matchmaking centre, once prospective brides, grooms, or their parents register, appropriate matches will be suggested. After a profile is submitted, a verification will be done to ensure that the individual has made their decision thoughtfully and voluntarily. The centre advises couples to register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act and in line with Satyashodhak principles. This registration service is provided free of cost. Alternatively, they may also reach out to local activists of MANS in their village or town,' the statement read. (The Marathi poster of matchmaking service)