A fourth standard student of Padma Seshadri Bal Bhavan school in KK Nagar drowned in the school pool on Thursday morning during swimming lessons.
Preliminary reports said Ranjan (10) dived into the water and became unconscious. Police said the accident took place at around 9.30 a.m. when the victim, a resident of Alwarthirunagar, was attending the swimming period. Trainers at the scene rescued the boy from the pool and rushed him to Vijaya Hospital but he died on the way. A police investigation is underway.
Keywords: Chennai, PSBB school, swimming pool, accident
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Mr.Rajeev Iyer would not have commented, if he gone through the legal aspects of the case. The swimming coaching was not optional in PSBB but, it was made mandatory to all small kids. Also many precautionary actions were missing regarding Kids safety. Parents were not informed immediately after the incident. First, please remember that all your sympathies and condolence has a true meaning only if "JUSTICE IS DONE TO THE KID"
Sad to see so many comments made by people in a foolish manner without thinking about the issue or letting all the facts come to light. All sympathies and condolences for the bereaved family - nothing can bring back their loss. However, it is also wrong to blindly blame the school management when it is also quite likely that they are totally innocent and this is purely an unfortunate accident where they are not to blame.
This sort of knee-jerk reaction from the public as evident in the comments above are symptomatic of our increasingly foolish society which fails to use their brains for the real reasons and instead is ready to blame everyone external - media, school management, police, government, etc.
The only way to respond to this accident is to pray for the family and await the full facts of how he died, before trying to figure out who is to blame. Else we are doing injustice to the school system, not just this school, but all others who will now clamp up.
After seeing so many comments,instead of finding the real cause it is
easy to say many irrelevant and irresponsible comments.It is true that
the young boy's death is irreparable loss to the parents and police
should investigate without pressure from any side.Then only true
picture will come so that recurrence of such accidents can be
prevented in the near future.In US for every three young boys there is
one trainer and safety of children while learning is taken care off.
Heart felt condolences to the parents
Its very sad. Its unfortunate that such an event happened in a so great a school like psbb which is an incubator for culture and values. I am shocked as I spent 17 years in this institution (NGM) and never was anything amiss.
The matter is serious. vicarious liablity to each one involved in the case has to be viewed seriously and no bail also should be granted. it is seen that the four arrested have been granted bail ignoring the writ petitions filed today. Hon'ble High Court suo moto should cancel the bail and law is same for everyone.schoolvan case yardstic should be applied in this case and all the school authorities connected with the case apart from swiming coaches are to be dealt with despite the fact howsomuch they are prominant'
Don't the schools in India have certified CPR administrators. Shouldn't it be mandated at schools that they need to have certain number of para-medic/CPR administrators based on the number of students in the school (a simple ratio like 1 per 25 students).
This should be considered as murder case as it was considered on Zion case..The police should use the same yardstick here too as was done in the cases of Zion school..I am Hearing news that State govt is trying to protect the school managment..Since incident happened inside school premises, management should be accountable for this.
It is very sad to have a incident like this. I can feel the pain the parents must have undergone. If you analyse both the incidents, they have a similarity. In both the cases the services were out-sourced and no full control of school management over the rendered out-sourced service with respect to safety, security and performance. To control cost these agencies just do the minimum in order to avaoid complains of primary level either from school mangement or from parents. For example in swiming pool they deploy the people who knows only swimming, he may not know how to train or how to provide a first aid in case of emergency. Enough life guards are not provided. Purpose is only to save money. In this process Safety and security of students get last priority. I agree that school authorities do try their part but need to be done much more to improve the safety of the students.
Very sad and shattering incident May the small and tiny soul rest in peace. My heart goes for the young boy and his parents. Authourities...please take enough care when you are handling small kids. After all you are also parents and treat the kids the same. Though accidents are inevitable, atleast attach 110% to any of the activities when dealing with small kids.
It sad that we have lost another child. "Trainers at the scene" and "rescue" are words categorically used by reporter seems to be biased.
How did child die, when Trainers were at scene ? The child might have not drowned had been rescued by the trainers.
School Management should be stripped off its School License for the death of Child. Mere Fine and few days of imprisonment will not do justice. The punishment should be harsh that such crimes are not repeated again.
IN similar incident Tambaram School authorities were arrested and Jepiyar was arrested when his college construction fatal accidents. Why Padma Seshadri authorities are left free. Media also keep quiet on this incident. What is going on in T.N.?
Action has been initiated against contractors.Is it sufficient?The educational institutions call for quotations for swimming pool,transport system or for any other facility.Say, the minimum quote for certain service is obtained as 10 lakhs to meet standard specs;they collect 50 lakh rupees from the students and negotiate for a 5 lakh contract. The contractor murmurs but can do very little about it. In order he gets his own target of profit he cuts out services and managements also look the other way. Thus both contractors as well as managements are equally responsible for such a sorry state of affairs.In this particular incident I believe the boy could have been saved if basic first aid had been provided.
Education is no longer a Service..It is a successful Business for the Owners..The recent children deaths is proving again and again..For them it is a matter of negligence ..they dont sympathesize the Parents feeling..Being a mom of two children..the recent death creates more stress ...
The media is very soft on the school unlike the incident with Zion
school. In this case the accident happened within the school premises
and the school management tried to wash its hand off. They deserve
severe punishment for failing to enforce safety and for callously
handling the issue. The dean should be arrested if justice has to
prevail.
I think schools should restrict themselves to what they are good at and stop doing all such things in the name of extra-curricular activities and mint money. Why do you want to force students to take swimming classes the facility for which has been outsourced? Instead, direct parents to a good swimming pool and leave it to them to take care of their children. Greed Plays in the minds of the management and the poor kid pays the price.
While it is sad to note the death of a child studying in a reputed school, in view of the fact that the school has mandated every child to learn swimming, which is why they have put up their own swimming pool, it becomes the responsibility of the school to take care of the children. Total callousness on the part of the school authorities, who are only interested in collecting money on one pretext or the other, appears to be the prime reason for the death of the child. Instead of wrapping up the case as a mere accident, the police authorities must proceed with the school authorities even if they flex the muscles, using their contacts with the powers that be. The parents-association of the school must ensure that there is a fair probe and action.
My deep condolence to Ranjan’s family.
I don't see why schools mandate these kinds of training. Kids have their own weakness without understanding their interest making them to undergo such training is dangerous. Schools which provide such training or activities should employee well qualified/certified trainers (don't how many of us verifies the trainers qualifications). When I read through the news in daily paper I got a feeling that the kids were allowed to swim across the pool without warm-up exercises which no qualified trainer will do.
One thing which is clear from these incidents is lack of responsibility which is there in all the field at all the levels. Though we all have some share in this incident but major part is with the school management and the trainers.
As a parent we should listen to our kids and double check their complaints. As school management never listen to parents compliant it is good to have a central body with GOOD people to take action on such issues.
1. Condolence to parents.
2. This is not happening only in Chennai.If we remember this happened
in Dubai also for singer Mrs.Chitra's daughter.
3. However everyday we are seeing lot of carelessness... in paid as
well as free services. Eg. drainage/metrowater/EB/metro rail
construction/transportation(bus,train,auto,share auto etc)/ shopping
malls & shopping center (no fire safety). Govt has to strictly
enforce safety standards.
4. Also we do see people travelling in wrong direction just to save
few drops of petrol,speaking on phone while walking/driving etc. In
highways everyday there is an accident involving several ppl of same
family due to rash driving.Can we as public also stop doing these.
I honestly feel that swimming for kids, should be taught only by their parents/guardians who would closely monitor them and one who understands their value in their life! Strongly condemn the comments provided by the PSBB!
Schools are places of learning and not for swimming and horse riding and skating yoga etc They must be made available elsewhere Just like the abolition of child labour below the age of 14 children below the age of 14 should not be allowed to stay in the hostels. They must be made to study in the nearby places
I am really saddened by the news. Its very unfortunate that a little life has been taken
away due to negligence by few adults. It should be the head of the school who should
take the blame and not just the staff. Not matter what, the school cannot replace the
loss for the parents of the Ranjan. They should realize the importance of safety in
school premises and train their staff (CPR, first aid, policies or anything that could
improve safety) before letting the children in any place inside the campus that could
harm them.
In psbb kids are forced/compelled to swim. .when something is made mandatory by
the school they have to take responsibility for this unfortunate incident.The school is
to be blamed. .What a shame. .well justice wont be served as the school is run by
powerful people. .
I am an ex-student of PSBB, Have undergone such swimming training sessions. The Trainers are careful enough, and will not permit a student who's got a permission letter or MC from the concerned parents and doctor. There are around 4500 students studying in this school. And never has such Mishaps happened since the inception of this school. If the Student had produced a letter with regards to his health conditions, the school would have taken great care. Every student of PSBB will know the care and responsibility taken by every faculty of the School. We wish no legal charges are laid on our dean.
how many parents have gone and inspected the safety measures? we just
want our wards to learn swimming, judo, boxing . we hide our guilty
consciousness by vandalizing the schools which have made money out of
our greed
Mr.viswanathan's comment is 100% right. Law is same for all. This
incident happened due to pure negligence on the part of school
management. It clearly revealed that there is no proper monitoring
system while children swimming. Correspondent is responsible for this.
It is shocking to hear something like this. Only thing I want know is , does the school has obtained any proper
permission to have swimming pool for kids below 10yrs of age,are there
any proper rescue management during exigencies. Have the parents been informed about the swimming training & the
possible luring dangers. Being a professor I would say that this not going to end unless there
going be strict rules enforced on all academic institution regarding
safety of students.
It is very sad to hear about the demise of the young kid at school
while attending swimming class. It is now beyond doubt proved nobody
the school management, authorities or the parents take adequate care
about their children every one expecting the others to do the job -
similar to the story everybody could have done but nobody did. May God
give enough strength to the parents to bear the loss of their loved
one. Let all concerned at least henceforth put in some sincere efforts
to safety aspects of school going children
This is a continuing tragedy for school going Children in India. Stricter safety
standards need to be drafted by the government and should be enforced by surprise
inspections. Non compliant schools should be heavily finalized and management
should be subject to criminal penalties for repeated violations / negligence. Parents
should also form committees to continuously monitor for safety issues and raise
issues with management.
My child also studies in the same school.I agree with Mr.Vishvanathan's
comments.May God give enough strength to the parents and siblings to
withstand the sorrow.
Very sad to hear the news. I am a parent of a 2 year old and these
news gives me jitters when I see that I have put my kid in one of
these schools. Such varied incidents point to the fact, that there is
more trouble in the safety & security of our kids, who depend on us to
make sure they are safe. Pointing fingers at those school authorities
where it happens, alone, is not going to help, because tmrw it might
happen in another school for a different reason, and we will always be
playing a catching up. Rather the need of the hour is a proactive
measures that the Government can bring to ensure safety of the
children in the school and while enroute to the school. There needs to
be a review, by a audit committee to check the functioning of the
schools and suggest ways to improve them and also audit them
regularly.
May be pick best practices from other developed countries.
Deep condolances to the parents. May God heal their sorrow.It is very
pity to note that everybody makes hue and cry if any mishap happens. In
due course it vanishes from everybody's mind. This is the reason for the
careless attitude of the authorities concerned and they are taking
advantage of it.
It is a sad thing to have happened to the child and an irreparable
loss to the parents. As a parent I understand that media does not
give a true picture of what has happened. They sensitize things. But
I was quite surprised to see parents voicing against the school. My
son is an alumni of this school and my daughter is a present student.
I have total confident in the school and systems. They have clear
systems for the security of the child in all aspects. One should have
been present at the campus today during dispersal to witness how well
they handled the situation by sending the children, one class, one
section at a time to avoid anything untoward. What has happened today
is very unfortunate and we cannot conclude anything unless we get to
know the sequence of events.
I am a parent of a child studying in P.S.B.B.(Nungambakkam). Feeling Very sad to hear this news. Swimming pool trainers and school authorities should be made accountable for this.
My kid was refusing to attend swimming class out of fear. When enquired I was told that no trainers are standing near the children (in the water), but watching from quite far distance. We had taken up this matter to school authorities and we were assured of proper care.
Siting this, I convinced my child to continue swimming. Now because of the same mistake one life has gone. This shows they have taken this matter very ligtly which has caused a big loss.
Atleast now other school authorities should be alert and vigil to avoid any more accidents like this. Losing One Life itself is too much.
Deep condolance to the parents.
Well said Mr. Viswanathan, the law is same for all. The police should use the same yardstick here too as was done in the cases of Zion school and Jeppiaar.
I agree with Mr.Viswanathan comments. The social media is too soft on this issue and the management never allowed the press inside the campus.
It's clear case of negligence of the school management since they did not provide for life guards which is mandatory.Further, small children have to be very very closely watched when doing diving, which is a serious exercise in water. Hope the powerful won't escape making the meek/ the weak as scapegoats as is the custom so far in India .
viswanathan. you are trivializing both the Zion School and Padma Seshadri issues. in one a kid was made to sit where there was a gaping hole in the school bus, which was just covered with Plywood. that is culpable Murder. I just picked my son from padma sesgadri(8th grade) and nobody knows what happened. Please wait before we get to know what happened. this is a tragedy
Sad news to read and recently seeing more of these issues on school students.
Very Unfortunate but i believe that the authorities need to be more
vigilant. I think in India every body takes life for granted and they
dont spend enough to provide the required facilities. Why was not the
life jacket used? Who will question the authorities
Safety and Safety measures always take Back Seat in India especially in Chennai.
The school authorities should employ sufficient number of instructors and also should deploy 2 or 3 lifefguards in the pool (underwater) at all times when swimming classes are in progress. The Government should immediately enforce stringent measures so as not to repeat such accidents. May god give enough strenth to the parents of Ranjan.
Why Hindu is soft on this issue. The boy was found after some time ,
when he was missing in head count. The correspondent should be
arrested. Law should be same for all. The same yardstick of Zion School
should be done.
Sad to know that another young life is lost at the pool. Need to have proper monitoring mechanism.
We feel extremely sad to read news of such mishaps. Will it not be
advisable that schools with swimming pools have at their disposal
competent medicos/paramedics to render emergency first aid services in
such contingencies? May God give the parents enough strength to
withstand the calamity .
OMG, what is afflicting chennai. why so many deaths..
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