Maharashtra Govt Announces Fresh Guidelines For Child Safety After 13-Year-Old's Death Linked To Punishment; Derecognises 2 Vasai Schools

The Maharashtra school education department has withdrawn the recognition of two schools run by the Shrimati Manrajidevi Education Society in Vasai, Palghar district, following the death of a 13-year-old student and violations of education and child safety laws.

The decision was announced through a government resolution issued on Saturday, December, 13, after a departmental investigation.

On November 8, Kajal Gaur, a Class 6 student of Shri Hanumant Vidyamandir High School in Vasai East, arrived late to school and was punished. Reports stated that she fell ill after the punishment. She died on November 14. The punishment involved making her perform 100 sit-ups while carrying her schoolbag.

According to the government resolution, the investigation found serious lapses in student safety, poor academic standards, and non-compliance with the Right to Education Act. The department said the English- and Hindi-medium schools failed to meet the required norms under the RTE Act, 2009, the Maharashtra RTE Rules, 2011, and the Maharashtra Self-Financed Schools Act, 2012. 

Tthe use of physical punishment by a teacher was found to be a direct violation of Section 17 of the RTE Act, which clearly bans corporal punishment. Officials treated the incident as a grave breach of child protection rules, as it was reported to have led to the death of a student.

The probe also revealed that several teachers employed at both schools did not have the required academic and professional qualifications. Authorities noted that this affected the quality of teaching and violated students’ right to proper education.

Serious gaps were also found in school safety and infrastructure. The management failed to submit documents related to building permissions and land ownership. As a result, the premises were treated as unauthorised. The investigation further found that the schools had not formed mandatory bodies such as parent-teacher associations and child protection committees. 

They had also not obtained the compulsory Form-2 recognition under the RTE Act. Officials also found that the schools were running Classes 9 and 10 without approval from the government. This was described as a major legal violation.

Based on these findings, the state government directed that the recognition of the two schools be cancelled at the end of the 2025–26 academic year. Education officers have been asked to make sure that students from these schools are admitted to nearby recognised schools so that their studies are not disrupted.

On the same day, the government issued another resolution for the implementation of the Centre’s School Safety and Security Guidelines, 2021. The order places responsibility for the physical, mental, and emotional safety of children on school managements, principals, teachers, and non-teaching staff. The resolution reiterated that physical punishment and mental harassment are banned in all schools.