The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Teachers' responsibility

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Teachers' responsibility

Sir, — If the 24 teachers had taken the responsibility of saving four children each, the impact of the disaster would have been much less.

K. Anand,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — A teacher is responsible for the safety of the students in school. If this is not realised by a teacher, he or she is unfit to be one.

M. Geetalakshmi,
Secunderabad

* * *

Sir, — I am reminded of the poem, Casabianca, by Felicia Dorothea Hemans. It tells the story of a French admiral's heroic son who stayed at his post on the gun deck of the flagship, L'Orient, during the Battle of the Nile, awaiting his father's order to leave. "The boy stood on the burning deck whence all but he had fled; The flame that lit the battle's wreck Shone round him o'er the dead ... The flames rolled on, he would not go Without his Father's word ... "

While the boy's father lay dead unable to talk to his son, in Kumbakonam the teachers fled the scene after reportedly telling the children to stay put.

S.Y. Ramakrishnan,
Bangalore

* * *

Sir, — We need to strengthen the basic curriculum of teachers' training. They should be trained to be composed and compassionate while handling such emergencies. Without proper training, we cannot expect our teachers to be valiant fire-fighters.

Balaji Govindan,
Bangalore

* * *

Sir, — The education department should introduce a subject at the elementary level to train children on the steps they should take in situations such as fire and earthquake.

S.R. Devaprakash,
Tumkur, Karnataka

* * *

Sir, — The courts should intervene and ensure that all schools teach students some basic safety measures. Schools should conduct mock drills periodically to ensure that the students and others do not panic and know what to do at crunch time.

S. Swaminathan,
Virginia, U.S.

* * *

Sir, — How confused the children must have been is evident from reports that many ran into the classrooms to fetch their bags. A little bit of education on escape and rescue measures would have made them act more pragmatically.

Padma Balasubramani,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — Some reports have said that the teachers rushed to put out the fire as soon as it broke out. The panic-stricken teachers had very little equipment or training to douse the flames.

In tropical countries, palm and coconut leaves have been used from time immemorial as ideal roof material. Let us not in the heat of emotion decide to do away with thatched roofs.

V. Ganapathi,
Tiruchi, T.N.

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