The Devil is in the Details

The gruesome murder of the seven-year-old boy, Pradyuman in a reputed Gurgaon school has shocked the nation. My thoughts immediately went to the parents – the ones who entrusted their little one with the school. It’s their biggest loss, an unimaginable one. What words of comfort can anyone provide them? All they aspired was to send their child to a good, reputed English school. Child safety in schools, alarmingly, has turned out to be a contentious issue.

‘If our schools aren’t safe for children then where can we expect them to be safe?’, echoed thousands of citizens of the country. Rightly so. As a principal and as a parent first, I shudder to think of the plight of the parents and family members of the child. Even his friends, studying with him in school and neighbourhood. Children were traumatised and refused to go to school and parents too were too shaken. Sending children to school doesn’t just seem like another routine task. In fact, the psychological consequences were such that even in other cities parents grew anxious.

We know that misfortune, accidents can happen anytime, sometimes even when we take the best possible measures to do so. But, we need to do that. Put in best efforts and resources to ensure that the safety of children aren’t compromised. In the particular instance, the management and school authorities blatantly overlooked several loopholes. It was a disaster waiting to happen. And yet, all of us have a lesson from this.

a.      The parents need to undertake thorough research about the school, even if it seems flashy or decorative from the outside. Small instances can convey a lot when it comes to the ethics and integrity of the management of the school. This is very important. Often, it is only after an unfortunate incident has transpired that people get together. Parents need to be actively engaged and involved in the student’s activities and understand his/her daily routine or any incident that stood out in particular. Keep the channels of communication open. Teach students to be more aware, and report the smallest instances that didn’t seem right to them. And when they do talk, LISTEN.

b.      For school and support staff, no place can be perfect but working for a management that clearly is not performing its duties thoroughly or ethically, is possibly the worst environment to work in. The devil is in the details. Often, it is an unhealthy culture that is all pervasive and it is the top – down approach. There is nothing as precious as reputation and inevitably anyone’s career could depend on it! Often, most things are dependent on the resources provided to you and this is where the credibility of the management comes into play. However, if one was doing one’s job conscientiously and properly, it would be impossible to ignore some big warning signs. In such cases one becomes equally complicit.

c.      The role of the school management is undoubtedly the most critical. For, it is here, where the control really lies. The culture, ethos, ethics everything flows from this place to across the organisation. Granted that accidents happen even after taking the best of precautions. However, one cannot discount the fact the responsibility that comes with running an institution. It is a difficult thing to come out and accept that someone screwed up but what needs to be done, needs to be done. It takes courage and grit to still follow the right path when you know that you can get away with possibly anything in this country with a few calls to a few ‘right’ people. With the use of technology now security can be beefed extraordinarily to report even a single instance of breach, so it makes sense to invest in such technologies.

d.      Lastly, the state governments and government should look at setting up stringent laws in place for setting up of institutions be it preschools, schools, colleges. A myriad of ‘international’ schools have sprouted in the country and parents often don’t know the value for what they are paying – often through their teeth. Most of the institutions are funded by politicians unfortunately and rules are flouted regularly.

We all know that in all probability such cases would keep getting reported. However, what is important is our reaction to tackle it and proactiveness to avoid it. Media can be a great amplifier to garner support of public and to make people aware. But it should sensitively portray an accurate picture without sensationalising the case – someone has lost their child! We also need to ask ourselves that apart from really watching the gory details of the murder how is it that we can help to avoid such in the future. Let us all be vigilant and be present in each moment. Be aware.

 Co-creating Education