The shocking cases of rape and murder inside private schools in Delhi and Gurgaon have caused outrage among parents of Delhi NCR. The murder of a young boy in the washroom at the Ryan International School has brought back the focus on the Ryan Group of Schools. Ryan has been a repeat offender when it comes to negligence in securing safety of children.
Early last year, a child’s body was found inside a water tank on the premises of the school’s Vasant Kunj branch. Immediately, the Delhi government had issued orders for all schools to take special safety measures, and inspections of schools had also been undertaken by the Education Department. A magisterial inquiry report said,
Though the school was functioning on January 30, despite it not being a normal working day, there was not a single person to administer medical aid in the medical room, despite continuous announcement having been made in this regard.
Deputy CM Manish Sisodia had also recommended that the school criminally negligent and had therefore asked for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the case. However, no such inquiry was ordered against the school.
The Ryan International School Group is headed by Grace Pinto, who is a National Secretary of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahila Morcha. Ms Pinto had even asked her schools’ staff and students to join the party in March, 2015, as reported by the Times of India. The school and its management has benefited from the patronage of the ruling establishment and has repeatedly taken refuge in their proximity to the BJP.
Watch Deputy CM Manish Sisodia speaking about Ryan Group’s political backing:
#RyanMustAnswer Ryan management was asking parents to become members of BJP: @msisodia pic.twitter.com/Bw9j8DSYqt
— India Today (@IndiaToday) September 11, 2017
The parents of children studying in Ryan Schools are concerned for the safety of their children. The school management’s complete insensitivity towards the safety of children has been thoroughly exposed by these repeated incidents. Parents of the Gurgaon school have demanded that the school remain shut until a CBI inquiry is ordered.
The question is, will the BJP government in Haryana independently probe the incident given the management’s close ties with the BJP? And if the case is referred to the CBI, can we expect that the CBI will not behave like a caged parrot and protect the interests of the BJP leaders running Ryan International School? Unfortunately, the BJP’s behaviour in such matters pertaining to people belonging to their party suggest that Ryan will indeed get away with its repeated negligence.
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