04 October 2010
By Vishwas Kothari
Pune, India
Authorities at the Pune Municipal Corporation’s school board insist that they are conscious about the safety and the first–aid requirements of the students, and have taken appropriate measures in this direction.
The PMC school board runs close to 300 primary schools, a majority of which are Marathimedium and the rest offer studies in English, Urdu, Kannada and other regional languages. It also runs 25 secondary schools.
Speaking to TOI in the wake of the Bombay high court’s latest judgement seeking first–aid facilities at schools and other measures, the board’s education officer, Ramchandra Jadhav said, "We have provided first–aid kits to each of the schools falling under our jurisdiction."
Jadhav said, "A specific emphasis is being laid on creating awareness among teachers about their duties towards proper safety and care of students. We have been doing this through training sessions and also through programmes relating to disaster management preparedness."
Jadhav said the school board has a tie–up with all the PMC–run hospitals that operate within the civic limits. In fact, he said, there have been occasions when the school board has ensured treatment for students at private hospitals in case of a medical emergency.
Jadhav cited the case of a student at one of the PMC’s Urdumedium schools at Bhavani Peth, who had to undergo an operation at a leading private hospital off Dhole Patil Road, for severe head injury suffered from a freak accident in the school.
"The student came sliding down from the railing of the school’s staircase and had a fall, which resulted in head injury," said Jadhav. "The school board ensured that he got treatment at the private hospital," he added.
Jadhav said, "Physical education teachers at civic schools have been given the responsibility of ensuring that first–aid kits are kept in good condition by way of inspection at periodic intervals. Often, these kits are also required during sports and physical education events."
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