Girl injured, school shuts doors on info

A STD X girl student of Rosary School near Lal Deval in Cantonment was seriously injured after a fall during school hours, but the parents were not informed for quite some time after the incident. According to the parents, the school even waited till their arrival to shift the girl to hospital.

The school, which claimed it had provided first aid to the girl, also locked the main gate as the news spread and did not let people enter the premises. Only the girl's parents were allowed inside.

No entry: The closed gates of the Rosary School, where the administration prohibited parents, the media and even the police from entering the premises after a Std X girl was injured in a fall during school hours yesterday. PIC/Krunal Gosavi

According to a MiD DAY photographer who was at the spot, the school did not even allow the police to enter its premises at 2 pm.

The father of the girl said she was injured at 10.45 am, but his wife got to know of it only when it was past 11 am. He also expressed shock at the school's decision to make the girl wait for him and his wife to arrive at the school instead of taking her to hospital.

"I want to know why the school did not see it fit to shift my daughter to hospital when it knew she was seriously injured," he said. "As my cell phone was switched off, the school first contacted my wife on her cell phone. When we reached the school, we saw my daughter had sustained serious injuries all over. It was we who had to take our daughter to a nearby private hospital. As the CT scan facility was not available there, she was shifted to a hospital in Rasta Peth."

According to sources in the school, a teacher had scolded the girl over her conduct, but school officials denied this. The school's official explanation for the injuries suffered by the girl was that she fell down the staircase leading to the first floor while playing there.

"We had gone to the school to seek information about this incident, but school authorities refused to talk to us and we strongly feel that they are trying to conceal something from us," Rosary Parents Association president Ajay Sathe said.

Another parent of a child from the school said there was something fishy about the fact that the girl was on the staircase at a time when classes were on.

"When this incident took place, the classes were on, so why was the girl out?" the parent said. "And if she was playing on the staircase, why was that so?" The school rubbished the claims that the girl was scolded by a teacher. Ashwin Kamat, senior administrator of the school, said the incident happened during recess.

"The student fell from the staircase when she was playing during the recess at 11 am," Kamat said. "Rosary School sent Nalawade, an administration (personnel) from the school with the parents."u00a0

Five unanswered questions
>> What kind of safety measures has the school taken to prevent such incidents?
>>u00a0u00a0The school administration directed its security to prevent parents, media and even the police from entering the campus from the main gate. Why is the school hiding things after this serious incident?
>>u00a0u00a0How can the school principal not be answerable to the media and parents?
>>u00a0u00a0The injured girl's father claims he had never entered the school campus so he didn't know on which floor is her class. How can the school ban parents from entering the campus?
>>u00a0u00a0Why didn't the school immediately admit the injured girl to hospital instead of waiting for her parents to arrive?u00a0