In wake of the death of a six-year-old student in his school, the Delhi government on Sunday asked all schools in the city to submit a report to it over safety measures adopted in their buildings and also decided to form a task force to verify the arrangements.
“We have asked principals of each school, be it government, MCD or private, to carry out a prima facie inspection and give us a report. As soon as we get the report, we will carry out an inspection based on it. I will get all 3,500 schools inspected in the next one month through SDMs, fire department, PWD, DJB, education department and Municipal Corporations,” said Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
He said this after attending an emergency meeting of officials of the Education Department to review safety aspect adopted for students in both government and private schools at the Secretariat. Sisodia said the boy’s death had “shattered” everyone and that the team of government personnel would carry out an hour-long inspection in each school building to ensure that such an incident is not repeated.
Divyansh Kakrora, a Class I student of Ryan International School in Vasant Kunj area of South Delhi, was found dead in a water tank below the school’s amphitheatre on Saturday. The incident triggered demands, seeking the cancellation of the school’s licence, even as the government ordered a magisterial probe into the matter.
Divyansh’s father Ramhit Meena hsa blamed the school authorities for his son’s death. “It is a conspiracy by the school authorities and someone in the staff must have been involved in the incident. I received a call from the school and rushed to emergency ward at the hospital, where I found the principal at the entrance. I kept asking everyone about what had happened but nobody responded. Then, the principal took me to the doctor, who informed me that my son was brought dead at the hospital,” he said.
Meena, a paramedic at AIIMS, added: “When I sought answers from the principal, she asked me to stay put, claiming that it is for our own good. When I insisted, I was yelled at.”
However, the school pricipal has refuted the allegation and claimed that Divyansh was a special child, who was “hyperactive” and had a tendency of running away from classroom. She, however, could not explain how the child fell into the water tank below the ampitheatre of the school. Divyansh was last seen before the seventh period, which was around 12.20 pm.