Tuesday, Jul 20, 2004
Tuesday, Jul 20, 2004 |
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Madurai
By Our Staff Reporter
MADURAI, JULY 19. The city today went into a mellowed mood with thousands of people gathering to express their grief at the death of school children in the fire at a Kumbakonam school. Elders and students alike came together to pay homage. Condolence meetings were held at various schools, institutions and public places. People from all walks of life took part in a prayer meeting held at the Gandhi Museum in the evening. The Vice-Chancellor, P. K. Ponnuswamy, led the staff and students of the Madurai Kamaraj University in praying for the victims at a meeting held at the university. Members of the Syndicate and the Senate, the teaching and administrative staff, and the students took part. About 1,600 students of the Madurai Kamaraj University College took out a silent procession from Alagarkovil Road to the Gandhi Museum. They lit candles at the Museum and observed silence for a minute. The faculty members also participated in the procession. In a prayer meeting held at Dolphin Matriculation Higher Secondary School, verses from the Bhagvad Gita and the Holy Bible were read. A meeting took place at Capron Hall Higher Secondary School and a procession of students and staff was taken out in Ponnagaram Broadway. The Amutha Surabi Kalai Mandram, which held a condolence meeting, demanded action against schools that lacked safety.
Bishops' condolence
Society as a whole should own responsibility for the Kumbakonam tragedy which killed 90 children on July 16. Putting the blame on the school management, teachers, district administration or Education department officials would divert the issue and mean shirking of responsibility to find a solution to the problem, the Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council said here today. In a condolence message, Peter Fernando, Madurai Archbishop and president of the council, said recognition of schools without basic infrastructure by the Government would tantamount to denying the children their right to livelihood. Absence of a safe environment and basic infrastructure in schools also meant denial of the right to education. Especially so in a scenario of commercialisation of education in which educational institutions had been turning into learning shops. Successive governments and the present Government should own responsibility for incidents like the Kumbakonam fire, Rev. Fernando said. Christianity, a pioneer in providing meaningful education in the Indian education structure, would assist all Government efforts to provide quality education in Tamil Nadu.
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