While on the one hand, the incident left the child's family shattered, on the other it left thousands of parents shaken.
The unfortunate death of a 10-year-old in GD Goenka Public School in Indirapuram has instilled fear and a sense of insecurity in parents of children studying in private schools. While on the one hand, the incident left the child's family shattered, on the other it left thousands of parents shaken.
Shailu (name changed), mother of a 9-year-old studying in the same school, said, “I was informed of the incident by the mother of one of my son’s classmates. She was concerned about my son as well and wanted to know if he was all right. I panicked after the call and asked my husband to get to the school as fast as he could, as I was worried about my son too. I kept dialling the board numbers but no one answered. My husband waited for two hours at the school gates just to get a glimpse of our child. It was a tough day for all us parents and my heart goes out to the parents of Armaan.”
Another parent, Rita (name changed), whose child is 10 years old and in the same school, said, “We got to know of the incident from a WhatsApp message. As a parent, I was worried about the safety of my daughter. I called on the school board number many times but got through only after 20 minutes. I was told that my daughter was safe, but they didn’t divulge any details about the incident. We as a family are aghast at how a school can be so irresponsible.”
However, some others felt it was too premature to blame the school for what could have been an accident. “We as parents have a general tendency to blame the school for almost everything. This incident was very unfortunate, but we have to try and avoid playing the blame game. Kids can fall down the stairs even when they are at home. We should not say the school behaved irresponsibly without knowing all the facts,” said another mother whose child is in Class IV of the same school.
Speaking to City Spidey, Shivani Jain, president of the All School Parents Association, an association fighting for parents' rights, said schools had to be more careful, especially with younger children. Telling City Spidey about how the child could have slipped on the wet floor, Jain further said that schools had to refrain from using slippery vitrified tiles on their premises. “I have followed up with the authorities on several occasions regarding this issue but in vain,” Jain added.
Parents said this incident had left them very insecure, as for the first time they were worrying about the safety of their children in school. “Apart from studies, we only worry about issues such as picking them up from school, their eating lunch on time or the company they keep. We do not worry about their safety when inside school premises, but this incident in GD Goenka has left us very worried,” said Shaileja Jayaswal, a parent from Indirapuram.
“The school authorities have to be more careful with the children when they are in school,” said Debashis Sahoo, another parent whose child studies in GD Goenka.
Similar views were shared by Alok Kumar, patron of Federation of Apartment Owners Association, whose children also studied in private schools. He said the incident had left him and his wife worried. Kumar said private schools ran education more as a business. “They are all about profit. Many of these schools have been involved in wrongful construction, which may cause problems in an emergency evacuation. But parents think of these issues only when such tragedies occur,” Kumar added.
But one thing tied all parents across the city together — the pain of this sudden death of a 10-year-old, and angst at the way the incident was handled by the school.
Swati Mittal, whose child, 5, is a student of Presidium, said, “It is such a disturbing news. The school principal or management should have interacted with parents and clarified whatever doubts they had. Their silence is making everyone question their integrity.”
“I feel so sorry for the family," said Saba Manzer, father of a 6-year-old whose kid goes to a nearby private school. "I wonder if these high-profile schools we send our kids to are prepared to handle such crisis situations.”
GD Goenka, while denying any negligence on its part, has declared a holiday tomorrow in memory of Armaan Sehgal.
