The stampede in a local school that resulted in calamity and injuries to small children is an eye opener. Most schools these days are housed in buildings that are several storeys high. While going down the stairs may be a routine activity for students from the higher classes, it’s not quite so simple for small kids. The correct thing would have been to house the smaller children in classrooms located in the ground floor for the benefit of smooth and safe movement. That this fundamental principle has been ignored makes the school liable to legal action. Stampedes can happen in case of an earthquake or if a fire breaks out. These are common disasters which schools should be alert about.
Safety in the school environment is something that has been left entirely to school authorities. Government has taken a back seat in this matter because it believes the school authorities are best placed to take care of the safety measures. But evidently there are slip ups here. Whatever the reason for the stampede, the fact remains that the lives of several young students was endangered. It is time for parents of school going children to form associations to ensure the safety and security of their children in the school premises. There are several schools within Shillong Municipality which have been granted permission to extend up to the fourth floor in cramped spaces where the staircases are crummy and narrow. Vacating students from such buildings could turn into a double disaster as many would be injured in a stampede while coming down the stairs. Normally teachers are expected to chaperone little kids while they unsteadily climb up or down the stairs. That this did not happen is a gross negligence. Sadly, in Meghalaya there is no system of fixing accountability for such negligence.
Hopefully the Government will conduct a time bound enquiry into this case and make the report public. Also the school authorities will have to ensure that the younger students are not exposed to similar dangers in future.