Parents accuse management of hiding incident
AHMEDABAD, July 12: The authorities in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad have ordered a private school to shut its campus and initiated an inquiry after parents alleged that the management tried to hide a fire on its premises by terming it as a “mock drill”, an official said on Friday.
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The school authorities have claimed the blaze that erupted on Thursday was minor and doused in five minutes, but parents alleged that the management called it a “mock drill” when they inquired after learning about their children’s ordeal.
On learning about the protest by parents at Shanti Asiatic School in the Bopal area, District Education Officer (Rural) Krupa Jha reached the spot and ordered an inquiry into the allegations by parents.
Talking to reporters, Jha said, “Prima facie, we found negligence on the school’s part. We will conduct a detailed investigation into the incident and conduct a safety audit to ensure the building is safe for children. We will take strict action against those found guilty after the probe.”
He said the school premises will remain shut for students till the probe is on, and classes will be conducted online during this time.
“State Education Minister Kuber Dindor is in touch with us and gave a message that all necessary steps will be taken,” the official said.
On Friday morning, several parents rushed to the school and alleged that though there was a fire and resultant smoke on the premises on Thursday afternoon, the management claimed students were evacuated as part of a “mock drill”.
“The CCTV footage clearly shows a fire in an air conditioning unit in a room in the basement, where students gather for activity. Our children were evacuated by teachers following smoke on the premises. However, when we inquired, the management told us that it was a mock drill and there was no such incident,” an angry parent said.
Another parent claimed that the school management had immediately painted that room and changed the switchboard to cover up the incident and mislead parents and officials.
Meanwhile, school director Abhay Ghosh claimed that the fire was minor and was put out in five minutes.
“We are not hiding anything. Our trained staff immediately took control of the situation. It was not a major fire. The smoke was more than the actual fire. There was a miscommunication from someone that it was a mock drill. If parents feel we were hiding something, we are ready to apologise,” Ghosh said. (PTI)
