Kerala student hurt by classmate loses sight, teacher suspended for delaying treatment

An LKG student in Kozhikode suffered injury to his left eye after a classmate poked him with a pen on Monday.

news Controversy

An LKG student in the AKTM Lower Primary School at Manal Vayal in Kozhikode suffered injury to his left eye after a classmate poked him with a pen on Monday. The student who was injured by around 12 pm was allegedly taken to hospital only hours later, that too by his parents. According to the doctors, damage to the eye could have been reduced if he had been brought in earlier for treatment.

The boy is presently undergoing treatment at Cromtrust Eye Hospital in Kozhikode and according to hospital officials, it cannot be yet assured whether the student will gain back his eyesight or not.

The student’s family has come out stating that there were lapses on the class teacher's part and that proper medical aid was not provided to the injured student. After the incident became controversial, the school officials on Wednesday suspended class teacher Biji for lapses.

“I was informed about the incident at around 2.30 pm. But my daughter who is studying in the school said that my son was injured by noon itself and that he had told her that his eye was hurting,” student’s mother Laila told Media One.

Only after the mother reached the school was the child taken to a hospital for treatment. “When I reached the school, his eyes were all swelled up and I could see a cut in his eye. But I don’t think the teacher noticed this,” she said. Laila also alleged that none of the school authorities accompanied her to take the child to a hospital.

“The doctor in the first hospital we went to said that it looks like he needed urgent surgery. By the time we reached the specialist eye hospital, he lost his eyesight. Doctors told us we were late in bringing him to the hospital,” said the mother.

The child underwent an immediate surgery on Monday evening at Cromtrust Eye Hospital. Talking to TNM, officials at the hospital said that it would have been better if the child had been brought to the hospital without delay.

“The injury is deep. Though a surgery was done on Monday evening, he has developed a cataract in the eye. That needs to be removed and another surgery should be conducted. Only after that can we say if there is any possibility in him getting his eyesight back,” an official of the hospital told TNM.

Meanwhile, officials of the District Child Protection units and District Educational Office inspected the school and visited the child in hospital.

“Before our intervention, the teacher was suspended by the school administration after finding there were lapses on her part. We have done a preliminary inquiry and have submitted a report to higher officials,” Thamarassery Assistant Education Officer told TNM.

It was just last month that Shehla Sherin, a class five student died after being bitten by a snake inside classroom in a Wayanad school. Three teachers of the school were accused of not taking the child to hospital on time.

In another incident on Monday, a kindergarten student who slept off in class at a school in Palakkad was accidentally locked inside the classroom after school hours by the class teacher. The student who was locked up was found by her parents who came to school in search of the child. The teacher has been asked to stay away from work for five days as part of inquiry.

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