Karimnagar: Around eight girl students of the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Gurukul Girls' Residential School in Kamalapur mandal of Huzurabad constituency fell ill due to food poisoning, it emerged late on Thursday. Several such incidents have been reported from schools and colleges in the state in recent times.
The students at Kamalapur fell ill after having their breakfast in the morning. Some students started vomiting and some suffered from loose motion. The school management immediately shifted the students to a government hospital but hid the information from the other students as also the parents.
Later, the mandal tahsildar Rani and a police official visited the government hospital and consoled the affected students.
Notably, such incidents are happening even as the state government is taking several steps to strengthen the government schools, including the establishment of gurukul residential schools. A negligent approach of the management and officials is cited as the main reason for such situations.
The students at the school said the hostel staff is feeding them with spoiled food and worms were found in it. To overcome this problem, the management used boric powder. “Because of this, many students complained of severe stomach pain. They are using the rotten and damaged vegetables and are not even washing the rice grains and vegetables properly before cooking,” students complained.
“When questioned, the management threatens us with dire consequences,” students alleged.
They added: “The teachers are also threatening us with punishment, saying the image of the school will be tarnished if we reveal such things to outsiders. Teachers want us to keep out mouth shut.”
Meanwhile, the parents rushed to the school on Thursday. The school management did not allow them to interact with the students. Parents can come in only during the visiting hours. Do not disturb the classes now,” they were told by the management.
“When our children came home, they informed us that drinking water served to the students in the school is badly polluted. They are afraid of asking the school management to provide quality food and pure drinking water,” a parent said.
However, the school management said it was due to the monsoon season that some students fell ill. “There was no food poisoning and all the students have recovered from illness after treatment,” it claimed.
