Sick students deserve better

Schools must be safe places for students. Yet, in reality, the opposite could be the case, as the past few months have seen a number of unlucky students fall victim to negligence.
At least two families lost their loved ones in separate incidents that occurred in Udon Thani and Prachin Buri provinces. Had the teachers exercised precautions, those deaths could have been prevented.
According to local media reports, the first incident involved a 17-year-old student who suffered from lupus — an autoimmune disease which affects the skin, joints, kidneys, brain and other organs.
Despite her physical condition, she participated in a sports event in June as a dance team assistant, serving refreshments. One student in the squad did not show up, and the teachers told her to fill in for the team.
It’s reported that the performance was made under scorching sun, which is dangerous for people with lupus. The student then fainted, but according to eyewitnesses, help was delayed as the teachers wanted to finish the performance before the cameras.
She was eventually admitted to hospital but never regained consciousness. Twelve days later, she was pronounced dead.
The other death was that of a seven-year-old boy with asthma. During a scout programme, teachers found that he had misplaced his badges and ordered him to run laps as a punishment.
The boy did a few and eventually cried for help before passing out. By the time teachers noticed something had gone wrong, it was too late.
Yet, both schools defended the teachers, insisting they did not know about the students’ health problems. How could this be? Besides, such claims were disputed by the bereaved families, who said the schools knew very well that the children were unhealthy since they were occasionally absent from school when they were not feeling well.
Had the teachers cared enough, lives would have been saved. The mother of the teenage girl said her daughter, the only child in the family, did not want to attend the sporting event in the beginning because she was concerned about her health. However, she dared not make an excuse for fear of losing marks.
The punishment for the boy, meanwhile, was obviously disproportionate. It’s the bad judgement of the teachers that was at fault. The boy was too young to realise that such a heartless punishment could be life-threatening.
The schools have launched probes, but no concrete results have emerged. Such silence is intolerable.
Needless to say, this tragedy has something to do with the authoritarian culture in schools. Numerous school teachers are obsessed with using force to discipline students.
Senseless punishments against hairstyles, clothing, etc, that regularly appear in the news mirror the authoritarianism that underpins the country’s education system.
As a matter of principle, negligence causing death is a crime, and the teachers involved must be held accountable.
The education ministry must no longer tolerate a culture of silence in schools. It must step in to ensure fair investigations. Compensation is simply not enough.
Every school staff member, from school directors down to the teachers, must be penalised if they are found guilty. Such tragedies involving the deaths of vulnerable students must not be repeated.