CHENNAI: After remaining closed for 18 days, owing to a suspected gas leak, Victory Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Tiruvottiyur will reopen on Wednesday for students of classes 10 to 12.
The decision was made during a meeting held on Tuesday at the Tiruvottiyur zonal office, attended by parents, teachers, and government officials who agreed on a phased reopening of the school.
During the meeting, parents expressed concerns that school authorities, including teachers and the correspondent, failed to inform them during the incidents on October 25 and November 4.
On October 25, at least 35 students at the school were hospitalised with symptoms such as breathing difficulties, eye and throat irritation and persistent cough. The school was subsequently closed, and teams from the TNPCB and the corporation were deployed to determine the cause of the incident.
Despite not having official government permission, the school was reopened on November 4. Shortly after, seven more students were hospitalised, reporting symptoms like fainting, chills and nausea.
Malar D, a 31-year-old mother of a Class 8 student, said in the meeting, “As a single working mother, I trust the school with my child’s safety while I am at work. When the incident happened on October 25, my daughter ended up in the ICU. I only found out through other parents. She’s still on medication. If the school could notify us about reopening via WhatsApp, why not inform us of such a serious incident?” Parents also noted that parent-teacher meetings have not been conducted in the school.
Addressing these concerns, the district education officer has directed the school to conduct monthly or weekly parent-teacher meetings and to ensure parents are informed of incidents involving their children.
Parents also raised concerns about overcrowded classrooms, with up to 55 students in rooms meant for 30, making it difficult for students to breathe.
The school has been instructed to reduce crowding, install more fans and exhausts, provide drinking water and restroom facilities, add live CCTV cameras, and use handheld monitors to assess air quality if needed.
Yet to identify cause
“The exact cause of the incident remains uncertain. However, it was found that over 30 rabbits were kept as pets on the school premises, which might be contributing to the students’ health issues. They (rabbits) have been removed,” RDO Ibrahim said.
“A corporation health team will be stationed on the premises for at least a week to ensure safety of the students, and officials from the education department and pollution control board will conduct regular inspections,” the RDO added.
However, a corporation health official told TNIE that it is very unlikely that the illness was caused by rabbits.
“The cause of the suspected gas leak remains a mystery. Even if it were due to a gas leak, its effect would have naturally weakened by now,” the official said.