Was student's death due to grave negligence ?

By Kurulu Kariyakarawana

Classmates paying their last respects to their friend

The funeral banner

Senitha's wailing mother

Accidents due to negligence or due to the lack of knowledge could occur anytime and at any place. Whether it is an adult or child an accident can occur on the road or at home, at the workplace, on the playground or in school, accidents happen in places where you least expect. Children are prone to accidents especially in schools and playgrounds. Although parents are aware of this fact, they still send their children to school thinking that they are safe at least for seven hours and are looked after by the teachers and prefects of the school. But this was proved wrong last week with the untimely death of a nine-year-old boy due to an unfortunate accident that shook the school he attended and the rest of the country.

The death of Senitha Methmina Bandara Wijesinghe, a grade four student of Ananda College, Colombo 10, cannot be explained as just another accident that would occur in any other school. Although deaths of students in schools due to various accidents have been reported through out history, the last case reported in Colombo stands out from the rest, not only due to the negligence and ignorance of adults who are there to take care of children but the pathetic manner in which the school management tried to play down the incident to cover their lame shortcomings.

It is sad to mention that a leading national school such as Ananda College, Colombo which boasts about its pride of being the number one male Buddhist school in the country with rich policies and a fine educational system that includes the safety of its students, have shown a lackadaisical attitude towards the unfortunate death of an innocent child who breathed his last in sheer pain.

Though one many would argue that this is just another accident which could occur in an environment where groups of children flock to play freely without the supervision of any adult, the seriousness of the circumstances and the irresponsible nature of the series of events following the accident are grave.

Small children would play with anything that catches their fancy in a playground whether it is a ball or a heavy turf roller that would be used to flatten a cricket pitch.

Since there has been no practise to avoid dangerous hazards in children's playgrounds in countries like Sri Lanka where turf rollers lie freely around instead of being locked inside a safe place away from the reach of curious children. It is expected that even in the future, measures will be taken by the school authorities to remove such dangerous tools away from the reach of schoolchildren at least during school hours.

Secondly a serious point which has to be exposed and which did not come to light in any print or electronic media that carried many reports on the accidental death, that being one of the most responsible school managements in the country, the injured student had been transported to hospital in a trishaw in the custody of two senior students who were informed by the doctors that the boy has already succumbed to injuries which were not externally visible. It was claimed that Senitha had involuntarily passed urine in his trousers during the final seconds as he was gasping for breath while being pinned by the handle of the heavy roller and the wall.

It was also claimed that the student was rushed to the College sickroom where moments were wasted in an unsuccessful attempts to revive the victim and then decided to admit him to the nearest hospital, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital in Borella.

Having resources like vehicles at hand compared to rural schools, it is shocking as to why the school authorities never sent the boy in a larger vehicle in a proper resting position as mentioned in first aid theories but shoved him into a trishaw with hardly any space to move.

Moreover the fact that not a single responsible adult nor a teacher was sent with the injured student raises many concerns as to why a student in such a serious condition was sent with two other students.

Our attempts to get a comment from the school authorities proved futile as none of the officers including Principal Kithsiri Liyanagamage was unavailable for comment.

However, the irony is how the school management led by the principal took immediate measures to stick to the routine of the day where a special function was organised to welcome the new scholarship entrants acting as if no serious incident had taken place in the morning.

The Principal told the media that he took this decision not to cause alarm in the school in the morning as it would then disturb the normalcy and unnecessarily distress students as well as the teachers.

Although no inquiry so far has been initiated either by the police or the school management, the Ministry of Education had ordered an immediate investigation into the fatal accident and that a report should be submitted and will be followed by necessary legal or disciplinary action against the College authorities.

It is of paramount importance that neglecting hazards in the school premises should be addressed in the future at least to prevent unfortunate accidents that could render such pain of mind to loved ones of the innocent victim.

Is it callous disregard on the part of school authorities?

by Manjula Fernando

The death of nine- year- old Senitha was a tragic accident that occurred at Ananda College school premises. Yes, it was indeed an 'accident' for no child wanted that innocent boy to be crushed to death in such a horrendous manner.

Nevertheless, the question remains as to whether the school authorities acted in an appropriate manner to save the life of the child following the unfortunate incident. It is reported that the critically injured child was taken to hospital in a trishaw, a claim that was confirmed by two doctors at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, one of whom had been at the accident service when Senitha was brought to hospital.

Why were the school authorities so ignorant to the fact that transporting a critically injured child in a trishaw should have been the last resort and transporting an injured person in a trishaw which is known for its jerky rides is the worst mode of transport for an accident victim.

Senitha was accompanied by two older students and not a single teacher had taken the trouble to accompany the injured child. A claim confirmed by many who were around.

Students who witnessed the incident said 'two aiya's' carried Senitha into a trishaw. This is unpardonable- a Colombo school with so much facilities and being one of the top 25 most popular schools in the country having no proper mode of transport to rush a critically injured child to hospital which was situated a mere two kilometres away. Doctors were of the view that if the child was brought half an hour earlier, his fate would have been different.

On top of all that , the Principal of the school speaking on TV termed the tragedy that snatched the life of one of his primary students, Senitha who meant the world to his parents, a 'simple accident that could happen at anytime and anywhere. How could such a death be a simple accident? The question that begs an answer is whether it was callous disregard on the part of the school authorities to take serious note of the injury caused by the accident. The school authorities cannot wash their hands off the responsibility by making evasive statements.

Does it mean the school cannot vouch for the safety of its own students?

"There has been a major breach of trust and a shirking of responsibility' is the view expressed by many parents.. So far no one from the in school has officially apologised to the parents for what happened to Senitha. It is time that responsible authorities take some responsible action against whoever who was responsible if not for the accident, for the way the child was treated afterwards.