Neglected infrastructure claims young lives; protests erupt over repeated school safety failures.
Rajasthan, July 25, 2025
On Thursday, a heartbreaking roof collapse at Peepalodi Middle School, located in the Jhalawar district of Rajasthan, killed four students, injured many more, and sparked public outrage over the state of the school infrastructure.
The unfortunate collapse took place during the school day while students were in class after a classroom ceiling succumbed to gravity and collapsed on students sitting underneath. Rescue efforts quickly arrived on scene and were able to rescue some children, unfortunately, four were not rescued in time.
The preliminary assessment of the building indicated unsafe physical environment including cracks in the building, a lack of maintenance, and little regard for the state of the building. In the wake of the event, hundreds of parents and education activists, along with opposition parties protested the Rajasthan government about the tragedy, blaming negligence, systemic poor governance, lack of accountability and corruption.
Many states across the nation face breakdowns in their school infrastructures. In the last five years, the state has reported more than a dozen similar incidents. A recent audit found that 40% of India’s government school buildings need repair at the national level. The state government has given ₹5 lakh in compensation for each deceased child’s family. They have ordered emergency safety audits of public schools. However, critics are demanding that criminal responsibilities be assigned to other officials, even when they had obvious signs of structural peril but did nothing.
While families in mourning prepare for the funerals of their children, the nation is left to wonder why a basic safety plan for schools that were built to protect children has fallen short again.
