Amid Kerala Govt?s tall claims on smart classrooms, 10-year-old girl dies of snakebite in government school in Rahul Gandhi?s Wayanad

A 10-year-old girl died in Wayanad after she was bitten by a snake in her school today. The shocking incident was happened at the Sarwajan vocational higher secondary school, in Sulthan Bathery area of Kerala’s Wayanad district.

The class V student, Shahla Sherin, was in her classroom and her foot got stuck in a hole on the concrete floor of the classroom. Before her leg was pulled out, a venomous snake bit her.

According to other students, they had noticed the red spots in her foot and reported it to the teachers. However, the teachers refused to take her to the hospital immediately. “Shela herself kept telling teachers that she has been bitten by a snake,” another student told reporters. Media reports suggest that Shahla was taken to the hospital only after her father reached the school. A teacher has been suspended for alleged lapses.

Videos and photos being circulated on social media suggest that there are more similar holes in the classrooms. The Left Government had made tall claims early this year that ‘Kerala is poised to become the first state in the country to achieve total digital education by bringing primary schools also under its ambit well before the start of the 2019-20 academic year.’ Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) had claimed to have implemented the project in 4,752 government and aided schools in the state. However, today’s incident has exposed the pathetic condition of government schools in the state and it has created anxiety among parents as the condition of schools in rural Kerala is more or less same as that of the Sarwajan vocational higher secondary school.

Meanwhile, the CPM and Congress workers have distanced themselves from the mounting protest over the incident. As per media reports, the Congress leaders fear that the incident could hamper the image of Rahul Gandhi if it draws national attention. The BJYM has extended full support to the protests and demanded a detailed probe into the incident.