KOCHI: The Kerala High Court Monday initiated a suo motu case with regard to the death of 10-year-old Shehla Sherin, who was bitten by a snake in her classroom at the Sarvajana Government Vocational Higher Secondary School in Sultan Bathery, Wayanad.
The High Court initiated the proceedings based on a letter sent by Justice C K Abdul Rehim, executive chairman of the Kerala State Legal Services Authority. The letter was sent based on the report of the Wayanad District Legal Services Authority.
Authorities of various government departments like Education, Local Self-Government, Health and Child Welfare, and Police are shirking their responsibilities, the letter said. The judicial system cannot let the students be put to such vulnerable situations, harming their right to life, protection and care. It is high time the executive took the needful steps on a war footing, stated the letter.
Drop boxes are not maintained in many of the schools and students are not in a position to highlight their grievances, despite a specific direction issued by the education department in this regard.
The Parent Teachers Associations or the School Management Committees are not functioning in a proper manner in most of the schools. Anti-venom or ambulance with an intensive care facility is not available in the hospitals near the educational institutions. The menace of stray dogs exists, both inside and outside the premises of most of the schools.
The letter stated that various holes were found inside the classrooms of Sarvajana VHSS as well as in the compound. Thick bushes and weeds were seen in the compound, which also had a pond containing full of dirty water, filled with waste paper and other materials. The assistant engineer of the local self-government department, Sultan Bathery, had issued the ‘fitness certificate’ to the school on May 20, 2019 without noticing any defects.
There were no records available in the school indicating that the education department had conducted an inspection in the school, as mandated in the Kerala Education Rules. No training was provided to the teachers to administer first aid.
The educational authorities have to intensify inspections at the schools to ensure hygiene and health facilities and environmental safety for the students.
There is also a lack of awareness among the stakeholders including the parents. Anti-social elements and strangers have free access to most of the schools.
The vulnerable situation to which the students are exposed in most of the educational institutions run by the government and in aided institutions, which are under the direct payment scheme, is an alarming factor. The situation is worse in remote areas of various districts, the letter said.
