Hyderabad: Education experts and child rights activists are angry after two children lost their lives in New Century School, Vivekanandanagar, at Kukatpally. They are demanding the arrest of local educational officers who failed to check the safety of children in schools.
The education department seems to be the main culprit in these kind of tragic incidents by failing to perform its duties on time. Mr N. Narayana, an education expert, said, “All schools should possess the recognition-renewal certificate every year, according to the Right to Education Act, but neither the schools are applying for the renewal nor the department is going and verifying. In the verification process, the physical fitness of the building should be checked and the certificate should be given only then.”
Balala Hakkula Sangam demanded that the state's education minister and deputy chief minister, Mr Kadiyam Srihari should announce measures that the department is taking to ensure that schools maintain safety standards for children. It also requested that parents should not send their children to private schools as a protest on Friday.
According to the Right to Education guidelines, the poorly maintained walls, sheds, unfenced staircases, should be avoided in schools. Experts say that many private schools are failing to maintain the norms set by the education board.
Mr Achyuthrao, child rights activist, said, “It is negligence on the government’s part as there were several incidents where children’s lives were at risk, like bus accidents, electric shocks and others. The safety of children should be given prior importance and checks should be conducted by the education department to ensure that children are safe.”
