The incidence of children meeting with fatal accidents at school has been rising alarmingly. Ironically, on the day there was a report on the death by drowning at school of a class 1 child in Delhi, it was also reported that according to the fee structure put out by the Tamil Nadu Private Schools Fee Determination Committee, parents will now have to shell out more for KG tuition than for engineering courses. As fees go north, children’s safety falls south.

The excuse proffered by the Delhi principal is that “a special child” was involved, as if that justifies the tragedy. If anything, a special child needs special care. To claim that it was a freak accident is downright irresponsible, as was the case in Hyderabad when another child – these are babies, really – lost her life in a lift.

What reason can there be for this rash of ‘mishaps’? Too many students, too few attenders, too many so-called ‘facilities’, unsupervised activities, carelessness, greed, and an absence of conscience. Children in school, no matter how old, are the responsibility of the school staff in the same way that families are responsible for them at home. The responsibility is manifold in the case of little children.

Observe how adults conduct small children on the road. Invariably, the child is made to walk on the side of the traffic while the adult is preoccupied, these days with the cell phone. Few hold the child’s hand, and we know how children can wander off. After all, they have no road sense and, often, little fear.

Schools must be held accountable and merely meting out punishment won’t do. There has to be a reasonable teacher-student ratio. We don’t need fancy facilities – clean, airy, comfortable, safe, spaces will do, where teachers can keep an eye on every child. At the end of the day, we need more heart and less greed.

Deputy Editor

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