School safety - Emerging concerns

The increasing incidents of school children taking midday meals in schools being admitted to hospitals for reasons of food poisoning is indeed a matter of concern. Such incidents are reported in various states from time to time. In one of the recent cases, the staff involved in the preparation of food reported the prevalent unhygienic conditions in the kitchen which was horrifying. While the initiatives of the Government to provide a social welfare measure of this nature is indeed commendable, it is equally important to ensure that the food served to the students is of certain basic quality and there should be no compromise on the standards of the food served as well as the conditions in which they prepared.

Cases have been reported periodically about the presence of lizards, cockroaches and other insects and in one recent case the presence of a dead snake! What callousness on the part of the people who are in charge of the local centres!!

Some major concerns are:

• the raw materials used are of poor quality and sometimes unpalatable
• the vessels used for preparation are not clean and there is no supervision
• the place where the food is prepared is unhygenic
• the people who are engaged in this task do not follow hygenic procedures
• the quality of water used in the preparation of food is polluted
• there are no trained staff who are engaged in this work or in matters related to hygiene

This is a reflection on our casual approach while dealing with younger generation. To put it straight, safety in schools is indeed no body’s concern. There are no adequate rules and wherever they are, they are neither enforced or not followed – Is it because our children cannot rebel? Is it because we are confident of silencing them?

It is time that a National School Safety Commission is established along with their state counterparts which would look exclusively look into the aspects of school safety. But then, most of these incidents appear to happen in the Government or their aided schools – let me assure you, I don’t exclude or excuse the private schools. It appears important that the Government conduct a quality audit of their infrastructure and procedures to set things right at home before they take the law outdoors!

I am looking for the day when someone will raise this concern in forums where laws are made and unmade!