Kerala: Schoolgirl dies following snake-bite inside classroom, locals enraged

“She was bitten around 3:15 pm. But she was taken to the hospital only around 4 pm. The (authorities) waited till her father came. Only after her father came to pick her up, did the teacher follow him. When we told Shajil sir that it looks like a snake bite, he said it could have been a nail piercing. He dismissed our worry and came after us with a stick,” one of the school students told television reporters.

There are also complaints that students are only allowed to enter the classrooms barefoot. In fact, many of the classrooms in the school have walls with similar openings that are frequented by reptiles and other wild animals.

After enraged locals and parents of other kids staged protests, the district collector Adeela Abdullah ordered an inquiry by the deputy director of the education department and the district medical officer. A report would be sent to higher government officials, she said. Education Minister C Raveendranath asked the director of public education department to file a report after a detailed inquiry and to take immediate steps to prevent such incidents at the school.

Sherin (10), daughter of Abdul Aziz and Shajna both of whom are lawyers, was taken to a private hospital in Sulthan Bathery, later to a taluk hospital and referred finally to the Medical College in Kozhikode. But enroute, when her condition deteriorated, she was admitted to a hospital in Vythiri where she succumbed to the venom.

Responding to the incident, Wayanad MP and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the school’s “crumbling infrastructure” needed urgent attention of the state government.

“One of the oldest high schools in Sulthan Bathery, Sarvajana Higher Secondary School’s crumbling infrastructure requires the urgent attention of the state government. The absence of a conducive learning environment demoralises students and parents alike,” Rahul wrote in a letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.