Wayanad: In the wake of the widespread protests over the death of a 10-year old girl after being bitten by a snake inside her classroom, the head teachers at the Bathery Sarvajana School have been suspended. The Parents Teachers Association (PTA) has also been dissolved.
The action was initiated by the Deputy Director of Education against Headmaster KK Mohanan and Principal A K Karunakaran.
Meanwhile, the municipal corporation head said that the student was bitten be a snake as the class took place in a building which was to be demolished.
Raising slogans and holding placards, the students of the government school on Friday, took out a protest march through Sulthan Bathery town and converged in front of the government vocational higher secondary school in Wayanad district.
"We want justice for Shehala. Stern action should be taken against the Parents Teachers Association (PTA), the teachers who refused to rush the student to hospital and the doctors who refused to treat her," a student said.
Pathanamthitta and Idukki district collectors have ordered education department to clean all school premises and make them reptile-free.
Shehala, a student at the Government Sarvajana School in Sulthan Bathery in Wayanad, was bitten by a snake in her classroom on Wednesday. Her classmates and parents alleged that the callous attitude of the teachers was the reason for her death. The incident occurred at 3:10pm and no action was taken by the school authorities till 3:50pm, they alleged.
Pathanmthitta district collector P B Nooh has asked the Deputy Director of Education to submit the school inspection report by Monday. An inspection is currently underway in Idukki district.
Wayanad district collector Adeela Abdulla has asked the education department to ensure all schools are reptile-free and clean the school premises immediately.
District judge inspects school
On Friday, Wayanad district judge A. Harris, who is also the chairman of the district legal cell authority along with two co-judges visited the Government Sarvajana School.
He asked the school authorities to fill all the holes inside classrooms. "The school authorities should ensure students' safety," he said.
'We saw snake on Tuesday'
Students at the Government Sarvajan School said that they had spotted a snake inside the classroom a day before Shehala's death. Students complained that teachers tried to beat them up when they informed them about spotting a snake inside the classroom.
Students said Lina, a teacher, had pleaded with her colleague Shijil to rush Shehala to hospital but the latter had refused to heed to the request. Moreover, Shijil scolded Lina, said the students.
After this argument, Lina walked out of the school, the students told Manorama News. According to them, Shijil kept on saying that Shehala had suffered the injury after a nail grazed her leg and not from a snake bite.
