JAIPUR, India – Seven children lost their lives and at least 21 others were hurt when the ceiling of a classroom collapsed at Piplodi Government Upper Primary School in Jhalawar district, Rajasthan, on Friday morning.
The disaster happened shortly after a teacher, told about falling bits of brick, reportedly asked students to stay seated.
Officials said ten of the injured students remain in critical condition in the hospital. The principal, Meena Garg, and four teachers have been suspended while a high-level investigation gets underway.
School education minister Madan Dilawar accepted responsibility, saying, “As education minister, this is my responsibility. There will be a proper investigation and strict action against anyone found at fault. Funds were set aside for repairing 2,000 old schools in phases.”
Dilawar also shared that each victim’s family will receive Rs 10 lakh as compensation and a government job on contract for one family member.
The incident led to anger and protests in Jhalawar. Groups blocked roads and threw stones near Guradi Circle and outside SRG Hospital, which resulted in police using batons to control the crowd.
The children affected, aged between 10 and 15, were among 31 students in the classroom. Witnesses said cracks appeared in the ceiling, likely from rainwater damage, just before the collapse.
“We told sir that bits of the ceiling were falling, but he did nothing,” a student shared. Heavy rain had forced the students to stay indoors instead of going out for morning prayers. Within seconds, the room filled with dust and screams as bricks and cement came crashing down.
Villagers rushed to help after seeing dust rising from the school. Some parents searched through the rubble for their children. At least 13 students were rescued from the debris within 20 minutes, according to local leader Ram Prasad Lodha, who used his payloader to help.
Lodha said it took 45 minutes for an ambulance to reach the school, so most injured children were taken to the hospital by motorcycle.
The education minister’s office reported 21 injuries, while the district education officer listed 24. Early findings suggest the students stayed in their classrooms for prayers due to the rain, instead of gathering outside. The back wall of the classroom gave way first, leading the roof to collapse.
The classroom was one of two built in 1994 using gram panchayat funds. Repairs had only recently been approved. “It’s not clear if repairs were actually done on the rooms built by the gram panchayat,” said an official.
Collector Rathore mentioned that the school building, over 30 years old, was not flagged in the latest list of unsafe school buildings the education department prepared. Education secretary Krishna Kunal stated the school’s roof was repaired in 2023, adding,
“With a little care, this could have been avoided. We urge teachers, parents and village leaders not to send children to unsafe classrooms.”
