Lucknow child ‘stabbed’ by Class 6 student: Are schools failing our children?

In yet another frightening incident reported from a school campus, a Class 1 student in Lucknow was beaten and stabbed in the school toilet, allegedly by a Class 6 girl.

According to reports, the boy has identified his assailant, saying a “didi with boy-cut hair” had attacked him because she wanted the school to be closed early. The boy, Hrithik Sharma, was stabbed in the chest and abdomen and locked inside the toilet before the school assembly. A teacher heard his cries and found him in a pool of blood, his mouth stuffed with a cloth.

The boy was rushed to a private hospital, where doctors referred him to King George’s Medical University (KGMU). The incident came to light after the KGMU authorities reported it to the media. The district inspector of schools has issued a showcause notice to the school for not informing the police about the incident in time.

According to doctors, the child has sustained deep wounds and is still not out of danger.

The principal of the school has been arrested. A Times of India report stated that the girl would be questioned by a female police constable. The 12-year-old had reportedly tried to slash her own wrists before this, and had been showing “unpleasant behaviour” in the classroom.

On Thursday, agitated parents raised slogans outside the school for its attempt to the “cover up” the incident. The school had allegedly told the parents that Hrithik had met with an accident, and gave the police a written report only after media persons heard it from the hospital.

The case has too many similarities with the murder of 7-year-old Pradyuman Thakur in Ryan International School, Gurugram, in September 2017,  and shows that even after that chilling incident, important lessons have not been learnt.

As in the Pradyuman case, the assault took place inside the school toilet, where no ayah or caretaker was present. The school seems to have put its reputation above the need for fair probe into the crime, by trying to pass it off as an accident.

The most worrying bit, of course, is that the assailant is allegedly a 12-year-old girl, younger than the 16-year-old Pradyuman murder accused.

What made the girl want the school closed early so badly that she resorted to attacking another child? She seems to have given signs of being disturbed, by attempting to slash her wrists and through her behaviour. The Pradyuman accused, too, was allegedly “aggressive and a bully”, who was known to carry a knife to the school.

Why did no one notice these signs and recognise the need to intervene?

The case is also an example of the pitfalls of outsourcing the task of children’s security – let the police verify every staff, CCTV cameras cover every corridor. Both the attacks took place inside school toilets, where cameras can obviously not be installed.

Police verification of staff members is necessary. However, that does not mean the end of the school’s responsibility. And it will be a very scary world in which the only thing deterring children from violent crimes is the presence of CCTV cameras.

Through more police involvement and installing more gadgets, schools seem to think their job is done. However, these measures can never be substitutes for a healthy environment and open communication, where students feel free to approach adults they trust with their problems.

Instead of stopping at building higher walls and installing cameras, schools need to focus on employing qualified, accessible counsellors. Parents, teachers and school administrations need to come together to make children feel safe, nurtured, and cared for, if such horrific incidents are to be stopped.  

Also read: Delhi government's plan of parents monitoring students with CCTVs is disastrous