KOCHI: In 2019, ten-year-old Shahla Sherin died of snakebite at a government school in Wayanad, triggering a massive uproar. Last December, a girl was bitten by a snake at a school in Thiruvananthapuram.
In Kerala, old school buildings often see these slithering reptiles turn up as uninvited guests, leading to panic. The threat is a constant source of worry for the parents.
They can rest easy. For teachers of the state have decided to get trained, and that too by the forest department, in snake rescue.
It is not a government initiative. A few teachers expressed interest in attending the training following which the forest department offered to hold a one-day session.
Kerala has historically reported a high number of snakebites and an average 100 deaths in a year. Recently, after the introduction of the Sarpa app, there has been a steep decline in snakebite deaths. In 2024, around 3000 snakebites were reported while around 34 people died due to it.
“Palakkad reported the highest number of snakebite deaths in Kerala until recently, as the district has vast swathes of paddy fields and agriculture is the main source of livelihood. The figures dropped since farmers switched to mechanised farming,” said assistant conservator of forests T Mohammed Anwar.
“The programme aims to create awareness among teachers on rescuing, handling and releasing snakes. If we can train teachers, it will be easy to reach out to students,” he said.
“This is not a subject to troll the teachers. The training is not being organised by the education department and participation is voluntary. Interested teachers can attend. It will help know about rescuing snakes and how to ensure students’ safety if a snake is spotted on the school premises,” said Kerala School Teachers Association Palakkad district secretary K Ajila.
The session will be held at Aranya Bhavan, the forest department’s training facility at Olavakode, from 9am to 5pm on August 11.
“If the response is inspiring, we plan to extend the training to teachers in all districts,” Anwar said.