TN schools yet to enforce safety norms

Tiruchirapalli, May 28 (UNI) Even before the scars of the gruesome Kumbakonam school fire tragedy could heal, the collapse of a school portico in Pudukkottai last week is yet another grim reminder to the continuing apathy of the officialdom towards enforcing safety norms in educational institutions across Tamil Nadu.

Despite the Government laying down several guidelines and norms, it was disappointing to note that all caution had been thrown to the winds by not enforcing safety norms in many private schools. The lethargic attitude of the school managements and authorities alike prove that lessons have not been learnt from many such incidents in the past.

A 16-year-old girl student, S Subhashini, was killed and five students were injured when a portion of the portico collapsed and fell on a group of students at a private school in Kaikurichi near Pudukkottai on May 26. The students were attending a summer special coaching class when the mishap occurred.

The incident happened due to slackness on the part of the school management in maintaining the building and failure to notice the weakened portico.

On January 22, at least 23 school children and a woman teacher were injured, a few of them grievously, when the tiled-roof of a private school collapsed and fell on them at Thirukokarnam in Pudukkottai district. It was a miraculous escape for the students.

Police inquiries revealed that the school building was more than 40-year-old and the tiled-roof structure was weak as the school management had not taken up renovation works.

However, it was the July 16, 2004, tragedy that shook the entire nation when 94 children were charred to death and 18 others seriously injured in an inferno at a private school in Kumbakonam.

After the devastating fire mishap which brought to focus the glaring shortcomings in implementing safety norms in schools, the then AIADMK Government in Tamil Nadu had launched a crackdown on makeshift schools and those functioning under thatched roofs across the State. The Government had set a deadline for the schools to pull down the thatched roofs and follow safety norms compulsorily.

A retired official of the State Education Department told UNI that even as per the present rules, a licensed or chartered engineer should certify the structural stability of the schools for grant or renewal of approval. The panel of certifiers under the collector was empowered to decide on the structural safety. But, some school managements were getting away with not following the Government rules, thanks to official apathy, resulting in such incidents costing the priceless lives of school children.

The Government should at least now wake up and conduct case-by-case study in every educational institution and initiate stern action in case of violations, he added.

Educational institutions were not isolated cases, statistics pertaining to marriage halls, hospitals and multi-storeyed buildings have broguht to light the sorry state of affairs in enforcing safety norms.

The people of the State could never forget the horrific fire tragedy in a marriage hall at Srirangam on January 23, 2004, that claimed over 60 lives, and the fire tragedy at a mental asylum at Erwadi in Ramanathapuram district which claimed several lives, a few years ago.

The Government should arrange for periodical meetings with educational institution managements, marriage hall owners, private hospital managements and owners of multi-storeyed buildings to ensure that they follow the guidelines strictly to avoid recurrence of such tragedies.

UNI