Cover Story

The dramatis personae — tender young children doing as they were told — could well transform a raw tragedy into a defining moment in the nation’s history. The July 16 fire at the Sri Krishna/ Saraswathi English Medium School in the obscure town of Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu) which charred 93 boys and girls aged between six and ten years to death, has seared the conscience of the nation. Yet out of the ashes of this unprecedented man-made tragedy which snuffed out the lives of the hapless children of Kumbakonam (pop. 140,000) has sprung the hope that the issue of the appalling conditions in which the great majority of the nation’s children wage a daily struggle to acquire modest education, will at long last be addressed and rectified.

More than a month after the disaster, there is confusion about the actual sequence of events which culminated in the holocaust on that fateful day. A reconstruction of conflicting media reports suggests that the fire originated in the thatched-roof open-air kitchen of the Saraswathi English Medium School on the ground floor of the three storied school building which also housed the Tamil medium Sri Krishna primary and secondary schools with a total enrollment of 870 students instructed by 24 teachers, on the upper floors. The better investigated media reports indicate that while the mid-day meal of the school children was being cooked in the make-shift, open-air kitchen on the ground floor, its thatched roof caught fire which spread upwards into the upper floors of the building, access to which was by narrow staircases in the front and rear of the functional building crammed with 40 students per classroom.

Kumbakonam child survivor: official complicity in safety violations

Nevertheless the July 16 tragedy in Kumbakonam has impacted the issue of safety in education institutions — and the safety of children in general — upon socially responsible leaders within Indian academia. "I am afraid that the great majority of schools in India do not have adequate safety systems. Most of them are not sufficiently organised or equipped to meet calamities, leaving children at great risk. In CISCE (Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations) we accord great importance to affiliated school managements observing strict safety norms. I have recently instructed our schools to undertake safety audits and put teachers and children through drills and dry runs at least once a month to teach them how to handle emergencies. Moreover we have recently introduced compulsory safety norms which will need to be put in place prior to affiliation of new schools. Our inspectors will conduct a safety audit of applicant schools and only after we receive a satisfactory report will the school be granted provisional affiliation. Safety norms in schools must be child-centred as children are the most vulnerable stakeholders in school communities," says Francis Fanthome secretary-general of the Delhi-based CISCE which has 1,286 of the country’s most highly rated schools affiliated with the council.

Perhaps because most of India’s blue-chip boarding schools including Doon, Mayo, St. Paul’s Darjeeling and Bishop Cotton Shimla and Bangalore among others are affiliated with it, students’ safety is a serious issue within CISCE. In August 2002 — well before the Kumbakonam catastrophe impacted the issue upon the national consciousness — the council suo moto published a well conceptualised and child-friendly School Safety Manual — A Practical Reference Guide in collaboration with the Indian subsidiary of the US-based chemical major E.I. Dupont which was sent to all CISCE affiliated schools. Quite evidently with the progeny of the country’s rich and famous enrolled in affiliated schools, there’s a healthy awareness within the council that the neglect of safety issues is a high-risk failure.

Ditto in the inner and generally less accessible councils of the Union government promoted, Delhi-based, Central Board of Secondary Examinations (CBSE) — India’s largest school-leaving examinations board which has over 7,000 upscale schools including 926 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 506 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (see EW cover story of last month), apart from a sizeable number of highly fancied private sector schools such as the five National Public Schools, Bangalore, and Lawrence School, Lovedale among others affiliated with it. On July 26 — ten days after the Kumbakonam fire tragedy, G. Balasubramaniam, director (academic) of CBSE issued a circular/ questionnaire (28/2004) mailed to the heads of all affiliated schools.

"It is important that the (sic) schools should own moral responsibility for safe housing of students during the period of their stay in the school. It is said that accidents do not happen, they are caused. Advanced planning, effective implementation strategies, development of right attitude for safety, coordination and cooperation with agencies working in this area are important for ensuring safety in schools," says the preamble of the circular which advises the managements of its 7,050 affiliated schools to conduct immediate safety audits and implement several "broad preventive measures".

Among the safety measures recommended by CBSE: fire safety management; structural i.e building safety; earthquake, flood/ cyclone, landslides and stampede management; industrial safety hazards; electrical safety; danger from on-going construction work; and playground, water, laboratory, and transport management safety. "The above questionnaire needs to be answered by each and every school. The heads of institutions would (sic) discuss these issues in the school managements and take appropriate steps in this regard," warns the poorly drafted but important CBSE circular.

A modicum of awareness of safety management processes and procedures is expected of syllabus prescription and examination boards such as CISCE and CBSE which have affiliated India’s top 7,500 schools, levying tuition and other fees which are unaffordable by the overwhelming majority of the population. The real problem is further down the pecking order in the 800,000 plus primary and secondaries such as the Sri Krishna and Saraswathi English Medium, affiliated to the 27 state examination boards across the country. In these state and local government schools where blackboards, desks, chairs, drinking water and toilets are rarities and teacher absenteeism is the rule rather than the exception, fire extinguishers, safety manuals and drills are classified as luxuries designed for effete urbanites.

"The plain truth is that within the teachers’ community in general and in government schools in particular, there is very little awareness of safety rules and regulations. Unfortunately the majority of teachers won’t recognise a fire extinguisher if they saw it, let alone know how to use it. The frightening reality is that most schools in the country are in far worse condition than the Sri Krishna School in Kumbakonam. This is because unlike the social philosophy of western countries, in India the state does not consider the nation’s children its property — to be cared for and educated," laments R. Govinda who has a doctorate in education from Baroda University and is currently a senior fellow at the National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi.

Dr. Shekhar Seshadri an alumnus of Delhi University and Bangalore’s highly rated National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and currently additional professor of child psychiatry at NIMHANS, has a socio-psychological explanation for the low priority accorded to children’s safety in Indian society. "It wouldn’t be accurate to say that Indians are more cruel to children than people in other, especially industrial societies. A more rational explanation is that for several decades the education system has stopped teaching pro-social behaviour in schools and colleges. The consequence is that respect for the rights of others and of children in particular, is not part of the national consciousness. This education lacuna is compounded by the paternalistic attitude of government at all levels, which over the past five decades has created a society of perpetual shortages in welfare and civic amenities. The result is a hell-for-leather me-first attitude which is pervasive in Indian society. In such a social order it’s hardly surprising that the right of all children to a quality education in safe and secure environments is a low national priority. Unfortunately post-independence India has inherited the worst aspects of socialism — authoritarian paternalism of government without its welfare-state benefits," says Seshadri.

Corporation Higher Secondary Virugambakkam

According to M. Kandaswamy headmaster of the school, repeated requests to the state government to expand and upgrade the school premises have proved futile. "We don’t run the risk of a fire in the school as we don’t have thatched roofs over the classrooms or in the noon meal kitchen. We have just one staircase to the upper floors but it is wide enough for children to descend quickly in case of an emergency. We don’t have fire extinguishers or a fire escape but we have adequate water supply. The school doesn’t have watchmen or security personnel either but to date we have not had a major security problem," says Kandaswamy.

However according to assistant headmistress R. Mangalam, during a recent hoax bomb scare the school’s teachers experienced great difficulty in shepherding children down its single staircase. "There was a stampede with children falling over each other. It was with great effort that we managed to get them safely out of the school compound which was blocked by panic-stricken parents who had entered the premises," recalls Mangalam.

Across peninsular India in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra — India’s most industrialised state which accounts for over 25 percent of the country’s manufacturing output — the condition of schools run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (reportedly India’s richest municipal government) isn’t any better. EducationWorld’s Mumbai-based correspondent Gaver Chatterjee visited a BMC school in Colaba sited next to a fire station. "This class V-X BMC school provides an education of sorts to a massive number of 1,200 students per shift which translates into over 60 children per class in the morning and afternoon shifts. Children have to make their own way to and from school through heavy traffic mostly on foot and are usually unaccompanied by adults. The building has three floors with 27 rooms, a dusty — though wide — staircase and two large entrances, one of which remains locked all the time. The school is without a principal or vice principal both of whom have recently retired... there were no fire extinguishers anywhere in sight," reports Chatterjee.

According to S.S. Ansari the assistant head of the school interviewed by Chatterjee, the BMC Colaba School is better equipped in terms of safety systems than most corporation schools in the commercial capital of the country. "True we don’t have any fire extinguishers in this school. But then we are in the same lane as the fire station so we don’t really need them. Moreover there are two large entrances through which our students can exit quickly," Ansari told Chatterjee who gives the school’s safety systems a rating of four on a scale of ten.

On the other hand in the private sector CISCE-affiliated G.D. Somani Memorial School situated in the upscale Cuffe Parade residential enclave of south Mumbai, hardly a mile away as the crow flies from the BMC Colaba School, top priority is accorded to the safety of its 1,500 students. The seven-storey school building boasts two elevators and three wide staircases and each floor is equipped with three medium-sized fire extinguishers. Three security guards man the school gates throughout the day and nobody is permitted to enter the premises without a pass from the reception desk. "All our maintenance staff and security personnel are trained to operate our fire-fighting equipment and students are put through a fire drill annually. Moreover we pay considerable attention to children’s physical and transport security issues," says M.P. Sharma, the school principal who has a string of degrees from Bombay University including a diploma in education administration.

Sarkar (right) and students: unforseen misfortunes

In sharp contrast, safety and fire hazard precautions at the (B.M) Birla-promoted Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata (estb.1952) which has 2,000 girl students on its muster roll are exemplary, according to Mondal who awards the school a perfect 10 safety award score. There are three staircases with three exits in the three-storeyed building, all leading out into a lawn. The school building is equipped with fire extinguishers at strategic points. However after the Kumbakonam tragedy, principal Devi Kar has ordered a double-check of the equipment and updated safety manage-ment systems of the school. "It is important for the teachers’ community to learn the lessons of the Kumbakonam tragedy. In our school this great misfortune has made us even more conscious of the importance of fire prevention measures. We have installed 19 portable fire extinguishers in the school including eight in our school buses. Moreover additional fire extinguishers have been installed at strategic points across the campus, including science laboratories and pantry rooms," says Kar.

Likewise the safety prevention measures in the Apeejay School, Noida (estb.1981) set in a 16-acre campus on the outskirts of Delhi are exemplary. "This CBSE-affiliated school has over 3,000 students who study in three earthquake resistant buildings," writes EducationWorld’s Delhi-based assistant editor Neeta Lal who visited its campus recently. "The school has installed three types of fire extinguishers — water, foam and gas-based — 27 in all. Stock and preparedness evaluation of the fire-fighting equipment is done every month. The school also conducts a fire-safety drill every August and prides itself on evacuating all buildings within ten minutes," reports Lal.

A particularly notable feature of the Apeejay School is that its buildings are designed to facilitate its 28 physically challenged students. One exit of the three in every building is customised to facilitate quick exit of wheelchairs. "Though we have taken safety precautions which are unmatched by any other school across the country, there is no end to student safety measures we can devise. Safety management is a continuously evolving process," says Rajesh Hassija principal of the school.

Source: School Safety Manual — A Practical Reference Guide, CISCE, Delhi (2002)

Refreshingly in the National Capital Region, i.e Delhi, even in government-managed schools there seems to be a healthy awareness of the importance of safety management. The Government Senior Secondary School, Lodhi Road (estb.1958) which has 780 including 510 girl students on its rolls, is equipped with ten fire extinguishers for its three-storeyed building. In addition the school’s five large water tanks are also fitted with hosepipes and kept ready for fire emergencies. The building though old (1960), is well-designed with two exits on each floor and two separate gates on its grounds, reports Lal.

According to the school’s principal V. K.Mishra, an inspection of all electrical switch points is conducted every month by a professional electrician. "This is a practice proposed by the school’s Vidyalaya Kalyan Samiti, a dedicated welfare committee comprising two students, a nominee of our MLA, a local NGO and two nominees of local resident welfare associations," acknow-ledges Mishra. "Moreover we conduct fire and emergency drills regularly and the school has recently appointed a professional counsellor who instructs students on safety management including fire prevention, commuting hazards and interaction with strangers," says Mishra.

However the detailed safety manage-ment processes introduced in the Lodhi Road Government Senior Secondary which should serve as a model to all government schools across the country are the exception rather than the rule in India’s huge school system comprising an estimated 830,000 primary and 75,000 secondary schools of which 90 percent are run by state and local governments. According to EW’s Lucknow-based correspondent Vidya Pandit, a July 27 circular issued to 926 government and private schools in the city by the municipal corporation to compulsorily attend a fire safety workshop following the Kumbakonam tragedy, failed to prompt the presence of even one school principal or senior official of the state government’s education department.

Comments Lucknow’s chief fire officer J.K. Singh: "School managements are wholly oblivious of fire safety norms and believe that it’s sufficient to merely install fire extinguishers and sand pails. The fact is that their staff are never trained to use extinguishers or to manage emergencies. Yet these manage-ments exert tremendous pressure on us to issue no-objection certificates. We intend to conduct safety workshops periodically despite the poor response to our July 27 circular. School manage-ments should appreciate that the idea behind the workshops is to equip school principals and managers with the basic skills to review and upgrade safety management procedures. Their responsibility is not merely to douse flames but to save innocent lives."

The national survey of school safety systems and academic and official attitudes towards the subject conducted by EducationWorld correspondents clearly indicates that if education institutions have become hazard traps endangering the lives of vulnerable children as horrifyingly manifested by the Kumbakonam fire tragedy, the prime villains are state and local government officials who fail and neglect to enforce laws and regulations enacted to protect students.

Box 2

Kumbakonam tragedy reactions

Even as an official enquiry is being conducted into the Kumbakonam holocaust, it is already apparent that the Tamil Nadu state government’s education ministry officials turned a blind eye to the reckless capacity expansion of the Sri Krishna and Saraswathi English schools and the flouting of elementary safety regulations by the common management of the two schools. Moreover it should be plain as a pikestaff to any rational monitor of India’s unequal education system that the rush for admissions into fees-levying private schools such as Sri Krishna/ Saraswathi English is rooted in the cruel obstinacy of state governments across the country to deny English medium education to the children of the poor and under-privileged.

"In India we tolerate great social divisions. And this country’s education system perpetuates the divisions in Indian society by being segmented into government, private, elite etc schools. In this fragmented schools system it’s not very fashionable to raise issues concerning safety, security and comfort of the children of the poor and downtrodden. That’s why the issue of safety in government and aided schools has been neglected and will continue to be," says Dr. P.K. Joshi, director of the Delhi-based National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA).

However a positive fallout of the Kumbakonam fire tragedy is that its sheer pathos has sparked indignation within the academic community and society in general — even if not within the impervious government bureaucracy — about the glaring inequalities in terms of provision and care which characterise the nation’s school education system. "There definitely needs to be much greater awareness in government and society about the issue of safety management in education institutions," says Prof. Ashima Goyal, professor of economics at Mumbai’s Indira Gandhi Institute of Research and Development. "Tragedies such as the Kumbakonam fire are not the result of lack of resources but lack of planning and government supervision. To remedy this unacceptable situation, state and local governments must take the lead and enforce safety norms, rules and regulations. In addition NGOs and the media must create wider awareness of the importance of children’s safety — the issues brought to the national attention by the Kumbakonam tragedy must not be allowed to die. And above all parents must become very vocal on issues of safety management and should push for every possible safety precaution in schools. This subject — of fire, transport, access to school buildings — should be intensively discussed in parent-teacher associa-tions. That’s the lesson of this painful tragedy."

That the Kumbakonam holocaust of July 16 in which 93 children in the tender age bracket of six to ten years lost their lives was a man-made rather than divinely ordained tragedy is indisputable. The original sin of failure and neglect to legislate a common school system condemns the children of the poor and disadvantaged to inferior schools and syllabuses devised by venal state governments. This inequity has been compounded by the Central government and intelligentsia turning a collective blind eye to the substandard infrastructure and classroom conditions of down market schools. The Sri Krishna and Saraswathi English schools inferno is the logical consequence of decades of neglect of the quality of education dispensed to the children of the subaltern classes.

Following the Kumbakonam disaster there’s widespread hope that the hitherto dormant conscience of India’s newly emergent, influential middle class has been sufficiently aroused to speak up in favour of a fairer deal for the children of the under-privileged who are compelled to enroll in cash and carry teaching shops because teaching and learning standards in public-financed government and aided schools are downright pathetic. If this hope proves unfounded, the innocent children of Kumbakonam will have died in vain.

With Vidya Pandit (Lucknow); Neeta Lal (Delhi); Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai); Amrita Mondal (Kolkata) & Gaver Chatterjee (Mumbai)