Jhalawar school tragedy: Roof collapse incident claiming 7 innocent lives in wait for accountability

Jaipur, July 26 Seven innocent children were killed after being crushed under crumbling school building in Rajasthan's Jhalawar while 27 others sustained injuries. Many still are lying unconscious in hospital beds while their wounds continue to speak the story of trauma and pain.

However, what seems missing in this entire episode is the accountability. Two difficult questions arise - who should be held responsible for turning a classroom into crematorium? who should be asked to pay for the death of innocent children?

All these questions remain unanswered under the cacophony of politicians' statements which are pouring soon after the news of these seven innocent has spread like wild fire.

The tragedy that unfolded on July 25 in a government school in Piplodi village, Jhalawar district, is not just an accident — it's a damning indictment of a crumbling system.

Yet, no one is willing to accept responsibility. In the name of accountability, only five teachers have been suspended. Teachers' job is to teach, not to inspect crumbling roofs or sanction structural repairs. Where are the leaders? The engineers? The officials? Should no one higher up in the chain be held answerable? Many questions are being asked. But there are no answers.

A place meant to shape futures has instead buried dreams. And what does the system promise in response? A “high-level inquiry".

Even before the investigation began, a bulldozer was sent in to demolish the remaining school building, the very structure that could have held evidence of negligence.

According to Jhalawar’s top official, District Collector Ajay Singh, no one is to be blamed.

He claimed the school administration never informed authorities of the building’s dilapidated condition. The Education Department officials echo the same line. But the voices on the ground tell a very different story.

Babulal, father of an injured child, Vikram, said the school building had been in poor shape for two years.

A local drive was underway to collect Rs 200 per household for its repair — a desperate move when the state had failed to act. "We wish we had managed to collect the donations," he lamented. Another student, Varsha Raj Kranti, recounted how pebbles began falling from the roof just before the collapse.

The children informed their teachers, but their warnings were ignored. Minutes later, the roof came crashing down. Tina, a class 8 student, gave a chilling account: “Children from all classes were made to sit in a single room. Some kids noticed pebbles falling and told Teacher Javed. He told us to sit quietly. Soon after, a portion of the roof collapsed. I ran out after hearing the sound. Only a few of us managed to escape before the entire roof fell.”

The signs were there. Everyone knew. But no one acted.

Village Development Officer Daulat Gurjar confirmed that a letter had come four years ago recommending school repairs.

The village panchayat carried out some work. Villager Khushang Sharma shared that earlier repairs were funded through donations collected on national days like August 15 and January 26.

It’s appalling that government schools meant to uplift the most marginalised rely on donations for survival. Every year, budgets worth trillions are passed with thunderous applause in assemblies. Yet schools remain broken, unmaintained, and invisible to those in power.

RLP MP Hanuman Beniwal raised a powerful point in Parliament: “Leaders and officers should send their children to government schools.”

Because that’s the real problem. The system ignores government schools because the children of those in power don’t study there. These institutions are left to the poor who matter only on election day. When it comes to government education, we hear lofty promises: “We will build English-medium schools. Nutrition will be improved. CCTVs will be installed. Books will be free.”

But why not maintain what already exists? Why not ensure the buildings where poor children dream are safe? Ask yourself: has the house of any politician, bureaucrat, or minister ever collapsed like this? Of course not — because no one dares compromise the construction of their homes. There are no kickbacks, no ghost contracts, no hollow walls built for show. But when it comes to the schools of the poor, even rooms are allowed to rot — until they fall.

On July 1, Rajasthan Education Minister Madan Dilawar wrote on social media: “Summer vacations are over. From today, definitely send your little children to school. Let’s go to school!” Perhaps he forgot to add: “...but at your own risk.” The families took that risk. And the result was the horror that unfolded on July 25 and now the question is ‘Where’s the Accountability’?

This tragedy wasn’t an act of God. It was man-made negligence -- foreseeable and preventable.

The truth is in plain sight. The culprits aren’t hiding — they’re just not being named. We can only hope our governments begin to see this truth before another roof collapses on another classroom full of dreams, said a local in grief who saw cremation of six children on same day on Saturday in Jhalawar.

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