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Management greed abetted by education authorities which failed to enforce the laws and safety standards and carelessness of midday meal staff caused the fire that led to the death of nearly 100 primary school students in Tamil Nadu in 2004, says an inquiry commission report
The "avarice and shady dealings" of management at the primary school in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, which "violated all safety norms," was responsible for the school fire tragedy in July 2004 that resulted in the death of 94 primary school children. These are the views of the commission set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.
The report indicts 24 individuals, half of whom have already been chargesheeted, and recommends that the government inquire into the roles of the other twelve. Pulavar Palanichamy, chief manager at the Sri Krishna Girls High School, a government-aided primary school, and his relatives who ran the school, were identified as the prime culprits along with the midday meal programme staff.
According to the Justice K Sampath Commission of Inquiry the school flouted educational as well as safety norms in a bid to make financial gains. Given this, one of the report's key recommendations is that the Tamil Nadu government review the functioning of all recognised schools in the state and ensure that they comply with infrastructural and safety norms.
The commission says poor infrastructure and violation of safety norms were to blame for the fire that started in the thatched roof kitchen where school meals were prepared, and then spread to the thatched roof classrooms on the first floor.
The 500-page report that was recently tabled in the Tamil Nadu assembly says that children from the nursery and high schools were often "herded" into the primary school to boost its attendance when school inspectors came visiting. "This helped the management get government subsidies for children partaking of the free noon meal, and teaching grants for more teachers. If the children had not been made to go to the first floor classrooms, the casualties would not have been so high," the commission points out.
The ill-fated school was run like the "personal fiefdom" of Palanichamy, says the commission.
In fact, three schools functioned within the same building, in flagrant violation of the norms and rules of the Tamil Nadu state school education department.
The primary aided school had sanction to function only on the ground floor of the building. The fire, sparked by a stove in the kitchen, on July 16, 2004, spread to the thatched roof of the classrooms above, the report adds.
"The carelessness of the noon meal staff, the callous indifference and criminal insensitivity on the part of the management running the three schools, compounded and abetted by the (state government) departments concerned, which failed to implement and enforce the laws and safety standards," were responsible for the tragedy, the commission concludes.
As for allegations that many of the school's teachers fled the scene soon after the fire began, instead of staying behind to help save their students, the Sampath Commission notes that, in fact, credit for the 700 other children who escaped must go to the teachers who had no training in disaster management. "There was only lack of judgement on the part of the teachers, and not culpable negligence," it says.
Having visited 2,661 schools across Tamil Nadu, the commission set out a number of guidelines on location, construction and safety measures for school buildings in the state. It suggested regulation of the noon meal scheme, drinking water supplies, toilet facilities, playgrounds and transport arrangements.
Other recommendations of the Sampath Commission include: -
Schools that do not comply with the safety regulations should be given a month to do so. Other infrastructural aspects must be improved over three to six months.
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For schools functioning without recognition, strict compliance with every detail of the norms must be made mandatory and verified by an inspecting officer before recognition is granted.
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Such schools must be given two months to apply for recognition, and the department of education must process their applications within a month.
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Conditional recognition or approval should not be allowed.
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A state-level committee headed by the director should undertake surprise checks on schools.
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Considering the exponential growth of nursery schools in the state, the commission said a separate directorate for nursery schools must be constituted immediately.
On September 2, the Tamil Nadu government accepted the findings and recommendations of the Sampath Commission.
Also read: 'SC directs Centre, states to ensure fire safety in schools'
Source: The Hindu, September 3, 2006
The Indian Express, September 3, 2006
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