The sudden death of a class 2 student of a Matunga school during a physical training class on Tuesday has put a question mark on the preparedness of city schools to tackle such emergencies. While some schools and parent organizations feel that a fitness certificate must be submitted at the time of admission, others feel that the move might create a fear amongst parents of their children being discriminated against.
Seven-year-old Kenneth Rosario, a student of Don Bosco School, Matunga, had collapsed in the basketball court during a training session. He was rushed to a nursing home, where he was pronounced dead. While the school claims that parents are always made to fill up a form regarding their child's medical history, they were not aware of whether Rosario was suffering from any ailment that needed special attention.
Parents fear their kid will be treated differently
Arundhati Chavan, president, Parents Teachers Association United Forum, said, "Parents tend not to reveal their child's condition because they fear they will be denied admission. Sometimes, a child is isolated by other children as well as teachers due to an ailment. Yet I feel that schools should ask for a fitness certificate so that they are alerted about any ailments and can provide immediate medical assistance when needed. Some schools don't even have proper first aid facilities. They must also make provisions for teachers to attend health workshops."
Fr Francis Swamy, principal of St Xavier's High School in Fort, also said that all parents may not be happy with the idea because they fear that their children might be discriminated against if a disease they are suffering from is made public. "Asking for a fitness certificate of a child may create fear among parents that their child may be discriminated against in school. So I don't think its a good idea to ask. Parents do speak about their child's health problems if there are any after they get admission."
Schools must be given an undertaking, says principal
Nazma Kazi, principal of Anjuman-I-Islam's Saif Tyabji Girl's High School, Byculla, said, "It is a very unfortunate incident. Schools should take an undertaking from parents that their child is fit and fine to participate in all activities rather than asking for a medical certificate. We have a page in our school calender on which we ask parents to note down information regarding their child's health. We do give first-aid training to our teachers."
Psychologistspeak
Deepti Kanade Modak, psychologist, New Horizons Health and Research Foundation (NHHRF) said, "It is true that sometimes parents don't reveal the illness of the child as they feel that the school's perspective towards the child will change. Instead of discrimination, I would say difference in treatment or approach towards the child changes. Parents feel that the teacher may not cooperate. They always want the child to be treated like any other."
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