Dangers your kids can face after you see them off to school

The alleged molestation of a pre-nursery student on a schoolbus has again exposed the risks schoolchildren face

The alleged molestation of a pre-nursery student on a moving schoolbus has once again exposed the risks schoolchildren face when they are outside their homes.

The alleged molestation of a pre-nursery student on a schoolbus highlights one of the risks children can face in school. (Representative Photo)

The following are some of the dangers to watch out for when children are off to school.

Sexual Assault – More often than not, the backgrounds of the drivers and conductors employed by the schools’ transport agency are not verified before they are hired.

Road accidents – The presence of a conductor and a woman attendant on the bus is a must. They are supposed to ensure that children are picked up and dropped safely to and from their homes. However, accidents still happen. In May 2016, seven-year-old Jiya died after a speeding car ran over her while she was crossing a road near her home in Gurgaon’s Sector 4

Jiya, who was a Class 3 student of Ryan International School, Gurgaon, was dropped off on the wrong side of the road and met with the accident while crossing the road. In another incident in Pune, the five-year-old daughter of an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer was killed in June this year after she was hit by her own schoolbus near the officers’ quarters.

Accidents on school premises – Accidents have been reported on school campuses, including kindergartens. On May 9 this year, a day care owner was booked for negligence after the thumb of a three-year-old girl there had to be amputated due to an injury.

The victim, Myra, was at the Cherub Angles day care centre in Sushant Lok 3, Sector 57, on April 28 when she injured the thumb of her right hand. It was eventually amputated at Artemis hospital.

Drowning – Children often venture into dangerous spots on school campus. In February 2016, Divyansh Kakrora, a class 1 student, was found dead in a water reservoir at Ryan International School in Delhi’s Vasant Kunj. School managements have been found wanting in ensuring that students do not loiter around prohibited and unsafe areas on campus.

Corporal punishment – There have been cases of children being injured after being hit by teachers. On May 16, a private school teacher in Gurgaon was arrested after she was accused of rupturing a class 9 student’s eardrums by slapping him. The teacher, Reeta Panwar, who taught English at Sharda International School in Shiv Nagar on Pataudi Road, was later released on bail.

On August 5, two school students in West Bengal were hospitalised after being beaten up by their teachers. On the same day, parents of a five-year-old girl lodged a complaint at Navrangpura police station in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad against a private school for alleged corporal punishment.

School fights – Students getting involved in fights with each other is not uncommon, but sometimes such incidents get out of hand. A six-year-old student at Hyderabad’s Promising Scholars High School died after a fight with another student on the school campus on July 17.

Falling from a height – Fatal accidents involving students falling from a height or from school roofs have taken place in the past. In July 2015, a Class 9 student died at Don Bosco school in Chennai died after falling from a height of 35 feet.

Suicide on campus – School campuses have seen suicides in the past. In April 2015, a Class 9 student of Lucknow’s premier La Martiniere Boys’ College committed suicide by jumping off the top floor of a 100-foot-high building inside the campus.