Parents of a six-year-old student of a Borivali school filed an FIR on Thursday, alleging negligence on part of the school in taking care of their daughter who sustained injuries while in school.
Mumbai: Parents of a six-year-old student of a Borivali school filed an FIR on Thursday, alleging negligence on part of the school in taking care of their daughter who sustained injuries while in school.
The parents stated that their daughter slipped and fell during swimming practice and that the school not only ignored her bruise, but also failed to inform them.
ADVERTISEMENT
An FIR under sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) has now been registered against the administration of JBCN International School at the MHB Colony police station in Borivali.
According to the police report, the incident took place on September 17, when the student was practicing swimming along with her batch mates in a pool inside the school premises.
"The tiles surrounding the pool are very slippery and my daughter slipped at the edge of the pool. As a swimming instructor, it was the duty of the on-duty instructor to check on her and send her to the school nurse for immediate check-up. But none of this was done and by the time my daughter got home, all I heard was her version of the fall because the school had not bothered to inform me about the incident," said the student’s mother.
A day later, when she checked on her daughter again, she was shocked to find a 5 cm gash on her daughter’s privates, raising concern. “I rushed her to the doctor and at the same time also called the school for an appointment to meet the principal. The doctor was also equally shocked and on inquiring my daughter revealed that it happened the day she fell outside the swimming pool. She had also informed her teacher about the pain but nobody in the school thought about checking on her,” added the mother.
In a statement released by the school, management of JBCN International School mentioned that when the incident took place, the child did not complain about any pain even after being inquired by the swimming instructor.
"Despite instructions to use the railing to walk around the pool, the child walked independently and missed her step and slipped. She, however, got up instantly and continued the rest of the day comfortably in school without expressing any discomfort," said the statement.
The school has rubbished claims made by the parents that protocol of inquiring with child about the fall was not followed at the time of the incident.At the school, parents insisted that they meet the swimming instructor as well as the school nurse. The parents also asked for a written explanation from the school about this incident and the action that the management will take on the instructor who ignored this incident.
“Till date I have not received a single written note from the school,” said the mother. The situation got worse this Monday, when the child was sent home from school as she was complaining of giddiness.
“My daughter mentioned she had also hit her head on that day near the pool and apart from the tremendous pain in her privates, she was also experiencing spells of giddiness, so I immediately rushed her to a hospital where she was kept under observation for more than a day,” said the mother.
The FIR was lodged immediately after the child was discharged form the hospital. “We also requested the school to share CCTV footage of that day to understand exactly what happened but they have refused to do so. Finally we had no option but to file an FIR,” said the mother.
The statement released by the schools also mentions that they have CCTV footage to prove their point and the same they are ready to share with police officials, as well as the PTA of the school on Friday.
“The child went home by bus and also attended an after school hours (advance swimming class) and did so happily and comfortably without reporting any concern. The child was found in happy spirits and showing no signs of trauma when the bus reached to drop her sisters who are also in the school,” mentions the statement.
Officials from MHB Colony police station mentioned that they will inquire into this matter and also go through the CCTV footage in order to confirm allegations made by the parents as well as the school.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
