This archive report was first published on 23 November 2019.
On November 20, 2019, a tragic incident occurred at a school in Kerala, southern India, where a 10-year-old student, Shehala Sherin, died after being bitten by a venomous snake.
According to reports, Shehala was bitten by the snake while sitting at her desk, but her teacher ignored her cries of pain and continued teaching the lesson. It wasn't until an hour later that Shehala was taken to the hospital, where her leg had turned blue.
Her parents took her to four different hospitals, but were told that there was no anti-venom available. They were eventually directed to a fifth clinic 90 kilometres away, but Shehala died on the way.
Classmates of Shehala have alleged that the teachers at the school dismissed the injury as having been caused by a nail, stone, or similar object.
As a result of this tragic incident, around 50 students protested at the school, with one student holding a plastic snake wrapped around his neck. The students claimed that the school had no first aid box and that snakes were common in the playground and classrooms.
Responding to the incident, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan vowed to take strong action against those responsible, stating, "The teachers are supposed to educate the children on how to react in such situations."
Rahul Gandhi from the Congress party also weighed in, saying that the school's "crumbling infrastructure requires the urgent attention of the state government."
