The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report about school students in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district risking their lives by hopping across exposed check-dam pillars to cross the Betwa River on their way to school.
According to the report, nine students, including five girls, from Kakraua village cross the river this way every day. The dangerous route cuts their journey from about 13 km by road to just 1.5 km.
The NHRC said that if the report is true, it raises serious concerns over violation of the children’s human rights. It noted that Article 21A of the Constitution guarantees free and compulsory education to children aged six to 14 years, while the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, makes education a right for children in the same age group.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s 2009 judgment in Avinash Mehrotra v. Union of India, the Commission said the right to education necessarily includes the right to a safe school and safe infrastructure.
The NHRC observed that the absence of a safe means for children to reach school amounts to denial of their fundamental right to education with dignity. It has therefore issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary seeking a detailed report within two weeks.
A media report published on August 4 said a video showing the children perilously crossing wide gaps between exposed check-dam pillars had gone viral on social media. Villagers reportedly said they were unable to accompany their children to a distant school as they had to work in the fields, leaving families with the choice of either stopping their children’s education or allowing them to take the dangerous route.
The report also said a student had failed her final examinations after missing school because she was unable to cross the pillars due to her short height. The District Education Officer has visited the site and informed the District Collector, but no timeline has reportedly been given for constructing a safe passage across the river.
