Shannoo Khan: Victim of gross negligence

6

9NN, New Delhi: Just another death. Just another life lost. And just another time Government was found wanting. In yet another gruesome incident, Shannoo Khan an 11 year old girl, who had slipped into coma after she was allegedly hit by her teacher and made to stand in the sun for over two hours, died at a hospital here on Friday. Shannoo was undergoing treatment for “ventilatory failure” in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Lok Nayak Hospital.

While it is true that, what happened can not be reverted back and a family that has lost their precious, darling child can not be consoled enough. But, we can certainly take steps to prevent such disasters from happening again. It is important to realize that we need to focus on the future which we can change, and not on the past that can not be changed. Also, it is equally important that people take responsibility of their own actions and reflect on the question, “What we can learn from this?” It is not time for finger pointing but introspection.

Children are not adequately prepared for physical exertion. It was not as if she was flung by a slingshot twenty feet high and left to fall down unattended.

What this incident has demonstrated to us is the fact that our children are so ill-prepared to deal with even the most basic physical exertions. A mere knock on the head, followed by two hours in the sun is enough to send the children packing to heaven. And that in a country where the summer temperatures rise well above 45°C (113°F). It was not as if she was flung by a slingshot twenty feet high and left to fall down unattended.

Such lack of preparedness is abysmal and is indicative of callous disregard for child welfare in our country. Instead of preparing them for the brutalities that they will face in their life, children are prepared to be minnows who prostrate themselves, by the bare minimum of physical strains.

To change all this we need to change the way children are brought up in India. Here is Dr. Sunita Viadnathan, well know paediatrician,

“We need to transform the way we handle our children in school. We treat them like mushy, pulpous things who will blow away if we as much as whiff them. Human children are not soft ball of haze who will disassemble at stroke of a whip. This exorbitant attempt to extenuate even slightest of suffering has lead to neutralization of endurance and stamina provided to us by the process of evolution.”

Dr. Sunita, adds further,

“Provisions for corporal punishment in Delhi School Education Act (1973) are a step in the right direction, but we need to do more than just beget laws. Laws need to be stringently enforced and guidelines need to be set for public schools. A lapse on the part of schools  should lead to automatic de-recognition of the concerned school.”

Dr. Sunita, further told us about some guidelines that schools should follow, which could have prevented the calamity:

1. All children should receive basic corporal punishment at least once every week, which includes, smacking the forehead against the desk after pulling by the hair, hitting on the knuckles with hard inanimate object, striking the buttocks till they turn blue (otherwise known as spanking), among others. Spanking has added advantage of making children sit up with a straight back which could prevent spinal disc herniation.
2. All Children should be made to stand in the sun for at least two hours everyday and sixteen hours in a week in the summers. Similar methods could be devised for winter and rainy season for an all round development of children.
3. Parents should be acclimatized with this new trend in child fostering and given their own set of guidelines to be adhered to. Parents should take equal responsibility of their children, and take time out from their busy lives so that building a better future for their children should not be left to teachers alone. Parents should provide their children with an appropriate environment at home to complement the efforts of teachers at school.

Further, she continued,

“Remember this is just the start, if guidelines are prepared in entirety by a committee of emminent pediatricians and educationalists, we might have an all round development of children. The future of the children is now in the hands of the Government. I hope this tragic though oppurtune death will serve as a wake up call for the Government and the matter of administring corporal punishment on a regular basis would be taken up more seriously, than it has been in the past. We must strive to prepare our children for any catastrophic disaster they might face in their future lives. I hope the Government does something concrete this time instead of just making hollow promises.”