The question of children’s safety versus formality: Amidst dilapidated school buildings, administration’s insensitivity and flood-filth, not studies but saving lives is the priority – why politics of orders even in a disaster?
Calling children and teachers to school in the event of rain and flood is playing with their lives. Dilapidated buildings, dirt, waterlogging and traffic obstructions have already created dangerous conditions. In such a situation, it is more important to focus on the safety of children than on studies. Education is meaningful only when children learn in a safe environment. The government should rise above formalities in times of crisis and immediately declare a holiday, so that possible accidents can be avoided.
The rainy season is considered a time of adventure and play for children, but when this season becomes the cause of floods, dirt and life-risk, then the question arises about how sensitive our system is towards the safety of children and teachers. The decision of not closing schools despite the high alert declared for floods in 18 districts of Haryana recently puts a serious question mark on this sensitivity.
The dilapidated condition of school buildings is not hidden from anyone. In many places, there are cracks in the walls, water drips from the roofs and the floors get wet, inviting accidents. In buildings where studying is difficult on normal days, how can the safety of children and staff be ensured during continuous rain? Many government and rural schools are already in a ruinous condition due to a lack of repair and maintenance.
The problem of cleanliness is also serious. Dirt, waterlogging and open drains make school premises unhealthy and dangerous. During rainy days, the risk of mosquitoes and infectious diseases increases. In such a situation, calling children to school is only playing with their lives.
Not only this, the transport system gets badly affected due to floods and waterlogging. Children and teachers face great difficulties in reaching school. In many areas, the roads are filled with knee-deep water, somewhere bridges are broken, and somewhere rivers are in space. The daily movement of children in such conditions is only an example of the administration’s insensitivity.
The most surprising thing is that the government and the higher authorities do not give orders to close the schools even after knowing it. This decision seems more like a formality than a compulsion – as if by just giving the order, the responsibility has been fulfilled. The question arises whether any formality can be more important than the safety of the children? If an accident happens, will this silence and negligence of the administration be forgiven?
It is not new to put a temporary halt on the education system in times of disaster and crisis across the world. During the Corona period, schools remained closed for months, and education was carried forward through alternative means. When the safety of children was considered paramount during the pandemic, then why is the same sensitivity not shown in the event of floods and natural disasters?
Here, it can be argued that schools cannot be closed so that there is no loss of education. But is the importance of education greater than the lives of children and teachers? Education is meaningful only when students and teachers are safe. The decision to conduct studies under wet and crumbling roofs, in water-filled courtyards, and in the fear of disease will not be called education, but compulsion and negligence.
Actually, the real problem is both our policy and intention. The officials who should make immediate decisions after looking at the local conditions just keep waiting for orders from the top. And the policymakers sitting at the top usually make decisions on the basis of paper reports and files. The result is that there is a big gap between the ground situation and the government orders.
Today, there is a need for the education department and the disaster management department to formulate a clear policy. It should specify under which circumstances schools will be automatically considered closed. For example, when a high alert for floods is issued in a district, when life becomes chaotic due to continuous rain, or when the safety of buildings is doubtful. This will enable lower-level officials to take timely decisions and children can be saved from risks.
Along with this, emphasis should also be laid on regular repair and maintenance of school buildings. Leaking roofs and falling walls every monsoon exposes the reality of our education system. If we cannot provide safe buildings for children, then the talk of the right to education proves to be hollow.
It is important to pay attention to another aspect. When governments talk of ‘smart classes’, ‘digital education’, and ‘new education policy’, why not resort to online or alternative education in times of disaster? Children’s education can be continued without compromising their safety. But unfortunately, instead of such far-sighted steps, only the formality of issuing orders is carried out.
Children are the future of the country—we hear this sentence again and again. But when it comes to securing this future, our system fails the most. Keeping schools open in conditions like rain and floods is like putting the lives of both children and teachers at risk. This is not just insensitivity, but the height of negligence.
Now the time has come for governments to go beyond formalities and actually prioritise the safety of children. Schools should be closed immediately and reopened only when the situation becomes normal. The real purpose of education will be fulfilled only when children study and learn in a safe environment. If even this minimum safety cannot be ensured, then serious questions arise on the education system.
Sensitive governance ensures the safety of its citizens—especially children—in times of crisis. If we fail in this basic responsibility, then all claims of development, education and progress will remain mere empty slogans.
