School tragedy: Karnataka govt mulling policy for kids' safety in hostels

Bengaluru: A day after three students died under mysterious circumstances at a school hostel in Tumakuru, questions were raised on Friday on precautions being taken while preparing food supplied to children in such hostels.

In response to the incident, the state government was thinking of coming out with a new policy on the safety of children in hostels, sources said. On Thursday, three students at the hostel of Vidyavaridhi International School, Huliyaru in Tumakuru district died in a case of suspected food poisoning.

The DDPI, in a report sent to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), stated that the school was affiliated to CBSE, but the hostel was being run without permission.

“The DDPI report states that the hostel was not registered with DPI,” said DPI Commissioner Sowjanya. The report states that the school has 1,025 students from LKG to Std X, while 29 students stay in the hostel.

An officer said that as this school was affiliated to CBSE, the state government had little control over it. “Once schools get CBSE affiliation, they hardly follow state rules and do not allow local education officials to inspect them,” he said.

Sources said that the school authorities were claiming that they had permission from the social welfare department to run the hostel. “But the state government wants to bring these hostels under the ambit of the health department to ensure that they are inspected by officials at regular intervals,” sources said.