Various student organisation leaders and parents staged a protest in Sri Chaitanya School in Kanchikacherla after the death of an VIII grader, demanding action against the school management who allegedly caused the student’s death due to negligence.
The student, Seelam Nagarjuna Saibaba Reddy, died after falling from the school building while watching a 5K run organised by an NGO in the town. The school authorities immediately shifted the Saibaba’s body to Kanchikacherla government hospital without even alerting his parents. The parents came to know about the death only when the doctors asked them to appear for the post-mortem. Angered by the school negligent attitude, the parents raised slogans against the school management and tried to destroy the furniture in the school.
According to the Kanchikacherla police, the incident took place at around 10 in the morning, when the student went to the third floor of the school building to watch the 5K run. He then slipped from the parapet wall and fell on the ground and died on-the-spot. “During our preliminary investigation, we found that the deceased went to the third floor on his own and fell from the parapet. We are ascertaining the reasons behind the death of the student by considering the statements of parents and fellow classmates,” the police said.
Meanwhile, student organisation leaders alleged that both Deputy Education Officer (DyEO) and Mandal Education Officer (MEO) didn’t take action against the school for violating the rules. “The school has no permission to admit students who have passed seventh grade. By bribing the DyEO and the MEO, the school management is illegally running the school,” Student Federation of India (SFI) leaders alleged. Upon learning about the incident, district collector B Lakshmi Kantham ordered a magisterial inquiry and filed a case against the school management and principal B Prasad Babu. Also, the District Collector suspended MEO Chitti Babu for not taking action against the school.
