Udaipur, 24 August 2024: A ceiling of a government school in Kotra near Udaipur resulted in injuries to a teacher and a girl student.

The incident occurred at the Government Higher Secondary School at Kham, a village in the Kotra block of Udaipur district, when students of classes 8th, 9th and 11th were in the room, supposedly attending a PT instruction, because the teacher who was injured was the schools PT Teacher.

Around 10 am, a large part of the ceiling plaster suddenly fell down, causing panic in the classroom. Around 30 students were present in the room at the time of the incident, 50% of the actual strength, which was due to the rains.

After the plaster fell, all the students managed to get out of the room quickly. However, PT Teacher Ramlal Garasiya, who was present in the class, suffered head and leg injuries, while class a 9th student, Durga Kumari suffered back injuries. The injured teacher and student were taken to Devla Hospital for first aid. After treatment, both were allowed to return to school.

This incident highlights the fact that the condition of the school building is extremely poor and such is the case with many government schools in the rural belts around Udaipur. There are a total of 6 rooms in this school, out of which only 3 are fit for sitting. The other rooms are in a dilapidated condition, due to which students and teachers put to risk.

The infrastructure of these government run schools need immediate attention from the relevant department(s) and the local administration. Repairs and renovation will go a long way in ensuring that such accidents are avoided in future and that the safety of children and teachers can be ensured.