The school was in session, the students were seated, and the teacher was conducting a class, but then the plaster from the ceiling fell on one of the students sitting at the front desk and injured her, while the teacher and another student had a close shave.
The incident at the PM Shri Maharani Laxmibai Girls School in Bhopal's Barkheda Pathani has once again exposed the crumbling state of the school infrastructure in Madhya Pradesh.
The incident was captured on the classroom's CCTV camera, showing the teacher conducting a session until the plaster from the ceiling fell at 11:54 am on the student.
The class descended into chaos, but some maintained calm and rushed to help their injured classmate. She received first aid and was later sent home.
What makes the incident even more disturbing is that the principal had already warned of potential danger.
In a letter addressed to the District Education Officer, the principal wrote that multiple classroom ceilings had become weak and waterlogged due to ongoing rains. However, repair work was underway in parts of the school, but not in the classroom.
A copy of this letter was also sent to the Block Education Officer, Phanda. No official from the education department has come forward with an explanation. NDTV tried contacting Bhopal's District Education Officer, NK Ahirwar, but calls went unanswered.
The incident is a part of a much deeper crisis in Madhya Pradesh's government education system. Official data accessed by NDTV reveals that 1,022 schools in the state are operating in buildings that are either dilapidated or nonexistent.
Even more alarming is the number of schools that lack even the basic facilities. Over 12,000 government schools are functioning with just one teacher. Around 9,500 schools are still without electricity. More than 2,972 schools have no toilets for girls, and despite being sanctioned years ago, 3,342 classrooms are yet to be constructed.
The injured student at Maharani Laxmibai School may have escaped with minor wounds, but the question looms large: How many more warnings does the government need before it fixes the very foundation of public education?
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