Are government schools a death sentence for students?
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In a tragic incident on Monday, two 11-year-old girls died when a government girls high school in Belagavi district in Karnataka collapsed due to poor infrastructure.
Lagamavva Kattimani and Savitha Koli lost their lives while 11 others who were are injured were taken to Rajiv Gandhi Hospital for treatment. Off the 11, two students had fractured their arms.
“People have no concern for government school children. A crack was found on the wall earlier, but it was neglected," said Satish, one of the parents.
Parents along with the general public protested outside the school premises and refused to cremate the bodies of deceased. They also denied permission to officials to conduct a postmortem.
Hukkeri taluk tahsildar Shahira Afrin Banu rushed to the spot to console the protestors and assured the families of the deceased a monetary compensation of ₹4 lakh each.
Despite the negligence on part of the officials and the school administration, the district deputy commissioner called the incident a "natural calamity"
“The collapse appears to be a natural calamity. We will be giving ₹4 lakh as a compensation for the families,” said Belagavi deputy commissioner N Jayaram.
“I told my daughter to not go to school on Monday but she did not listen to me. She would have survived if she would have stayed at home,” said another parent Satyappa Koli.
School principal, Mahadev Bheemagola has been suspended by the Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI), PI Gajanana Manikeri on the grounds of negligence.
