Chennai, Feb 10 Edappadi K. Palaniswami, General Secretary of the AIADMK and Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, on Tuesday sharply criticised the DMK government following the deaths of two schoolchildren in separate incidents involving a snake bite and a poisonous insect bite on government school campuses.
Calling the tragedies “avoidable and heartbreaking,” he accused the ruling regime of turning public schools into “death traps” due to poor maintenance and negligence.
One incident occurred in Valangaiman in Tiruvarur district, where a student reportedly died after being bitten by a venomous snake inside the school premises. In another case, a Class 3 girl student lost her life after being bitten by a poisonous insect at a government school in Kumarapalayam in Namakkal district.
Both incidents have triggered outrage among parents and local residents, raising questions about safety standards in government-run institutions.
Expressing condolences to the bereaved families, Palaniswami said no parent should ever have to send a child to school and receive their body in return. He described the deaths as a reflection of “dangerous and unhygienic conditions” prevailing in many state-run schools.
The former Chief Minister also flagged another alleged lapse in Kallakurichi district, where students were reportedly made to clean an overhead water tank at a government school in Keezhathenur near Rishivandiyam.
Terming the practice unacceptable, he questioned why children were being forced into hazardous manual labour instead of being provided a safe learning environment.
“Schools should be centres of learning, not places where children fear collapsing infrastructure, contaminated surroundings or life-threatening creatures,” he said, adding that the government’s failure to ensure basic safety amounted to criminal negligence.
Palaniswami further accused the DMK government of focusing on publicity campaigns while ignoring ground realities. He said claims that Tamil Nadu excels in education ring hollow if student welfare and infrastructure are neglected.
Demanding accountability, he called on the state government to immediately provide compensation to the affected families and take urgent steps to improve sanitation, campus safety and maintenance across government schools. “The safety of children is non-negotiable. The government must act before more lives are lost,” he said.
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