School to reopen in four days as few show up

Gurugram: Ten days after the gruesome murder of the Class II student Pradhyuman Thakur in its premises, Ryan International School reopened on Monday. However, more than excitement, it was fear and anger that were expressed by parents, resulting in few students attending the classes.

Taking cognisance of extremely low presence of students, it was decided by the Deputy Commissioner's Office to not resume the functioning of the school for four more days on the request of the parents.

Out of the total strength of 1,200 students barely 250 attended the classes. In Pradhyuman's classroom that had capacity of 40 students, only four students attended. Reportedly, two students from his class have also applied for transfer certificate.

While there was apprehension and concern over the school not being able to make its security mechanism robust, another factor that led to low presence was less number of school buses. Those parents who showed the will of allowing their children to attend school highlighted that it was a matter of compulsion that allowed them to take this tough decision.

"It is not easy for us and our children to reconcile to the horror that occurred in the school. Yet, there is a requirement of us to gather courage and make a fresh start. We have been assured that security systems will be tightened. As a parent I have to now constantly keep inquiring about these improvements than to blindly believe the assurances," said Swati Singh, one of the parents.

To assuage the uneasiness felt by the parents, Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh also came and surveyed the situation at the school premises. He assured the parents that the new management was in the process of strengthening the security systems in the educational institute.

Under the management of Deputy Commissioner, the school has appointed Sabu Atthikal as the new Principal and Sandya Lal Das as the Vice-Principal. There was also an announcement that the examination schedule would resume from Tuesday but it will be delayed further as the educational institute is again closing for four more days.

Even after certain measures were put in place by the district administration, it was still not enough for the parents to trust.