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Children’s safety at school: Who is responsible?
View(s):Despite the recent accident at Ananda College where a student was killed when he was pinned against a wall by a turf roller, school authorities still do not seem to take the safety of students in their care seriously.
The Sunday Times captured a few incidents where children were in situations where they appeared to be at risk.
A particular incident captured by our cameraman was an instance at a school in Panadura where children were seen at the of top of a four-storied building under construction.
Our picture shows them wandering on the top storey of the building. ”It was only last week the media highlighted the death of a student at Ananda College.
“But teachers seem to have forgotten and fail to take action to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents”, said Sarath Kumara Gunawardena, 45, a parent from Panadura.
However the authorities say in schools island-wide they have tightened safety measures to prevent similar accidents at schools.
Accordingly prefects, teachers, private security firms and occasionally parents are assigned duties to help safeguard children at school.
Danger: Unsupervised children in fancy dress play atop an unprotected semi-constructed 4-storeyed school building at Panadura
A policeman sits by the heavy roller involved in the death of a student
With the cost of living soaring some parents are forced to send their children in overloaded trishaws such as this one
Authorities say safety measures at schools have been tightened to prevent accidents at schools