The principal and headmaster of the state-run SVHS School, where a 10-year-old student on Wednesday died after bitten by a snake in the classroom, have been suspended.
A wave of protests by various student outfits swept through Wayanad town yesterday, crippling the functioning of the Wayanad collectorate.
S Sherin, a class-V student, was bitten by a snake and later died in a government hospital.
The decision to suspend the principal and headmaster was taken by the Wayanad district education authorities who also decided to dissolve the school’s Parents Teacher Association.
Student organisations attached to various political parties staged protests at the Wayanad Collectorate yesterday. The protest by the SFI, the student wing of the CPI-M, and the KSU (Congress) turned violent and the police had to use force to drive them away.
The protesters criticised the callous attitude of the school authorities and the hospital staff in providing immediate medical relief to the child.
A doctor at the local state-run hospital was also suspended after it was found that the girl could not get anti-venom shot as well as other medicines despite adequate stock at the hospital.
State Education Minister C Raveendranath, who will visit the school today, may face more protests as the student organisations have warned of stepping up their agitation.
The education department yesterday issued a circular to all schools in the state to immediately call a PTA meeting and ensure that steps are urgently taken to clean school premises. The authorities have been told to provide first-aid training to all teachers.
Wayanad district judge A Harris, who is also chairman of the district legal cell authority, along with two other judges, yesterday visited the school, located in the Lok Sabha constituency of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi at Sulthan Bathery.
“Though a teacher in the school has been suspended, that’s not enough. We demand that a case be registered against other teachers and medical staff as well. We will continue our protest till stern action is taken,” a student leading the protest warned.
According to Sherin’s classmates, the incident occurred at 3.10pm and no action was taken by the school authorities till 3.50pm.
Sherin was taken to a nearby hospital only after her father came with a car, though there were several cars parked within the school compound at the time of the incident.