In India, a tragic occurrence unfolds as a school crumbles, leaving at least seven children dead and 26 others hurt.
In a tragic turn of events, a school in Rajasthan state suffered a partial collapse today, leaving at least 26 children injured and seven children dead. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on platform X, stating that "authorities are rescuing the affected people."
The school building, which has been a subject of concern for the residents of Jhalawar district for months, lacks essential equipment like bathrooms and clean water. The collapse occurred while children were in class, with approximately 60 students, teachers, and staff present at the time.
Residents were the first to respond, rescuing the victims before emergency services could arrive. The injured children were taken to various hospitals in the region, over 300 kilometers from Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.
This unfortunate incident highlights the ongoing issues faced by public schools in India. Funding issues persist, with both parents and students complaining about the state of disrepair of many school buildings. The lack of teachers in public schools further compounds the problem.
The collapse of the school building in Rajasthan is not an isolated incident. Blame shifting in the construction and maintenance of public school buildings in India, due to political rivalry, lack of accountability, and systemic negligence, has been a recurring issue.
Politicians often deflect responsibility to rival departments or officials to avoid political fallout. For example, after a recent rooftop collapse in a Rajasthan school that killed seven children, former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje blamed the state education department for negligence. This public blame was seen as political posturing and caused discomfort within the ruling party.
Many schools suffer from chronic underinvestment, poor infrastructure maintenance, and corruption, which contribute to unsafe buildings. The closure or merging of thousands of government schools across India has been largely attributed to state neglect and inadequate funding rather than just low enrollment. This neglect fosters a culture of avoiding direct responsibility for accidents, as officials may fear repercussions for failures rooted in years of underfunding and mismanagement.
The absence of pride in maintaining and building safe public institutions leads to recurring accidents and subsequent blame-shifting rather than coordinated corrective action. Officials and political leaders may shift blame to protect themselves from legal inquiries, public outrage, or political damage, focusing instead on calling for audits or investigations after tragedies occur rather than proactive safety enforcement.
In response to the school collapse, Madan Dilawar, the Education Minister of the affected Indian state, announced a "high-level inquiry" to determine the causes of the school collapse. The hope is that this inquiry will lead to systemic changes and an end to the cycle of blame-shifting and tragic accidents in India's public schools.
The world was shocked by the school collapse in Rajasthan, a tragic event that underscores the general news of the ongoing issues plaguing education-and-self-development in India. The lack of accountability and systemic negligence, evident in the crumbling infrastructure and chronic underinvestment, has led to accidents like this, pointing towards a need for change in the crime-and-justice system involved in the construction and maintenance of such school buildings.
