NHRC notice to MP govt over students risking lives crossing Betwa River

The NHRC on Friday issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government over reports of students risking their lives by crossing the Betwa River on check dam pillars to reach school in Vidisha. It sought a detailed report within two weeks, citing safe education rights

New Delhi: The NHRC on Friday said it has issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government over reports that many students are risking their lives by “hopping on check dam pillars” for crossing the Betwa River to reach their school in Vidisha district. They reportedly take this “dangerous route”, because it reduces the distance from 13 km by road, to just 1.5 km, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said.

The rights panel in a statement said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report about “school students risking their lives by hopping on check dam pillars to cross the Betwa River to reach school in Vidisha district”.

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The Commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues of violation of human rights. The NHRC has noted that Article 21A of the Constitution guarantees free and compulsory education to be provided by the state to children, aged 6 to 14. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 also makes education a right of every child between the age of 6 and 14 years. Further, the Supreme Court, in Avinash Mehrotra vs Union of India (2009) case, has held that the Right to Education necessarily includes the right to a safe school and safe infrastructure, the NHRC said.

The Commission has held that the absence of a safe mode of transport for children to reach their school “amounts to a negation of their fundamental right to education with dignity”. Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary, seeking a detailed report on it in two weeks.

According to the media report, carried on August 4, a video of the children hopping perilously across the wide gaps in the exposed check dam pillars, has gone viral on social media, the statement said.

The villagers reportedly express their inability to drop off their children at a faraway school as they have to work in the fields. The option they have is to either stop sending them or continue this way, the rights panel said.

Reportedly, a student failed her final exams after missing the school, because she could not cross the pillars due to her short height. The district education officer has visited the spot and informed the district collector about the issue. However, a timeline for the construction of a safe passage to cross the river has not been mentioned, the Commission said.