CHENNAI: As many as 38 students were hospitalised and discharged after a lizard was allegedly found in the breakfast served at Kottaiyur Panchayat Union Middle School in Tiruvallur district on Thursday. The students, who complained of dizziness after consuming the food, were taken to the Tiruvallur Government Medical College Hospital for treatment and observation.
Following the incident, Tiruvallur district collector S Kavitha took disciplinary action against the two cooks concerned and relieved them from duty. She also ordered disciplinary action against the school headmaster, a teacher and the block development officer.
According to school education department officials, 54 students from classes 1 to 8 are enrolled in the school. After 38 students complained of dizziness, teachers checked the food and allegedly found a lizard or parts of it in the vessel. The remaining students were provided alternative food, while the affected students were taken to the hospital.
Two Anganwadi children of the staff involved in cooking the food were also among those taken to the hospital. All the students have been discharged after treatment and sent home, officials said. The kitchen was located in a shed where a lizard was believed to have fallen into the food. The school authorities have been instructed to thoroughly clean the kitchen, remove insects and paint the premises, officials added.
District education officials also instructed teachers to taste the food before it is served to students and ensure that there is a 30-minute gap between the teacher consuming the food and it being served to the students. Officials said though this practice is followed in some schools, it is not uniformly adhered to across all schools.