the goan I network
PANAJI
The tragic drowning of four students at a stone quarry in Tuem on Saturday has raised questions about the safety and security of students in and around school premises.
People in Tuem have admitted that the Don Bosco School at Tuem has been providing quality education and good infrastructure right from pre-primary right up to SSC, enabling students to excel in studies.
“This has attracted students from across the borders and this is the only school in the area to offer residential (boarding) facilities to students,” said a source.
However, locals have insisted that educational institutions are expected to strictly follow safety measures and those neglecting safety of students should be penalised by the Education Department.
When contacted, some parents said the school had lacked certain safety measures for students.
“The school did not have CCTV cameras in the premises, while the school also did not have a security guard,” said one parent.
Locals pointed out to a number of stone quarries in the vicinity of the Don Bosco School in Tuem and said students had been tempted to go for a swim when these
quarries were filled with rainwater.
“Many students would regularly go for a swim in these quarries. It is highly unlikely that these four students would have gone to the quarry for the first time.”
“It is also improbable that these four students had gone to the quarry merely to wash their hands and feet after a football match, as is being alleged in some quarters. Why would these students go to a quarry further away, when they could easily have returned to the school to wash their hands and feet,” remarked one local.
Former ZP Deepak Kalangutkar felt that education institutions should learn from the Tuem tragedy and be vigilant in future.
Kalangutkar and his team had rendered assistance to the fire service during the search and recovery operations on Saturday.
“Though these stone quarries are dangerous since they are open and unguarded, they also serve as water bodies to store rainwater and facilitate in increasing the ground water levels.”
“The best option would be to fence off these stone quarries to prevent people from going to these quarries. The government should immediately issue orders to fence these stone quarries,” said Kalangutkar.
Incidentally, some parents have also questioned the school’s decision to collect Rs 500 as Bal Rath charges from each student.
“The parents had approached the ADEI regarding charge levied towards the Bal Rath bus facility, since such a facility should have been offered free of charge to students.”
“The ADEI, however, demanded a written complaint from the parents, but they were reluctant to do so for fear of their children being targeted by the school,” the parent said.
