KARACHI: A 14-year-old girl died on the first day in her school on Tuesday when educational institutions reopened after more than six month after lockdown imposed in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tragic incident was reported at a private school campus in Federal B. Area near Ayesha Manzil where the girl in the ninth grade, identified as Ariba Asif, died after falling from the stairs, officials said.

The victim’s family blamed the school administration for negligence that led to the tragic incident. They also accused the school management of keeping them uninformed about the episode for several hours and not offering the girl immediate treatment.

But the school management described the death solely as an accident, saying that her foot got twisted while climbing the six steps and she fell and died.

Sindh Education Minister Saeed Ghani has ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked the private schools’ director general to come up with a final report within a week.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2020