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Ministry probes electrocution of student in school
The Education Ministry has commissioned an inquiry into the incident which resulted in an eight-year-old child being electrocuted within his school premises.
The ministry has commissioned the Additional Secretary in-charge of National Schools, to conduct an inquiry into the incident to determine whether the cause of the accident was negligence, Education Ministry Secretary Anura Dissanayake said.
The National Child Protection Authority has also conducted a preliminary inquiry on the matter after receiving a complaint from a third party, but has temporarily halted it as the father of the child who is also a teacher in the same school has said that he accepted full responsibility for the situation and that an inquiry is not necessary, Anoma Dissanayake, Chairperson ofNCPA said. However the NCPA may conduct further inquiries into the incident later, officials working on the case stated.
Teacher unions also highlighted the need to take better safety measures in the school environment, where parents entrust the safety of their children to the school authorities.
“There seems to be a general lapse in safety measures in the school environment. I was told the NCPA is not inquiring into the matter further as the father wishes not to do so, which is wrong as its job is to ensure children are protected. A proper inquiry should be held to prevent such incidents from happening again”, Jagath Silva, secretary of th Independent Education Employees Union said.
This incident in Ananda College is the latest is a string of events highlighting the lack of safety measures taken by education authorities to ensure child safety within school premises. It has come under severe scrutiny of authorities and teacher unions. Previously, a young Anandian died in an accident involving a turf roller. Two weeks ago a 15-year-old student fell to his death from a mango tree which he climbed allegedly following his Principal’s orders.
Defending education administration and school management, Mr. Dissanayake said that already a circular with guidelines has been sent to all schools after the tragic incident at Ananda College in January this year. When questioned about the inquiry into the incident he said it was a case of negligence, not any lapse on the part of the management. Thus no disciplinary action has been taken.
“We manage about four million students every day and there are only a few incidents that happen that get highlighted. It should not be generalised,” he said.
Stating that only fatal accidents get reported while most others go unnoticed, Prof. Harendra De Silva said the authorities should take steps to prevent accidents from occurring. He emphasised the importance of precautionary measures and implementation of safety measures in schools.
“Before the accident involving the roller happened students have been doing the same for years. My son told me he had done the same. School and ministry authorities should take steps to make the environment safe.
“Get doctors to assess the environment as they are capable of assessing the situation better,” he said.