Two teachers of Palakkad’s Government Victoria College left a girl student, suffering from sickle cell anaemia and under immense pain, all by herself at a hospital so they can return to the hostel by 7pm.
Just about six months ago, the Kerala government issued a landmark order pushing curfew timings at all women's college hostels to 9.30pm. Till then, the cut-off time for women to return to the hostel was 7pm, and that had created enormous difficulty for students, especially researchers who worked at laboratories and libraries far away from the hostels. While the order won widespread applause from various quarters, two teachers in-charge of the hostel of Palakkad's centuries-old Government Victoria College, however, seem unaware of it - and that put a student’s life at risk.
Their determination to return to the hostel by 7pm along with a student resident to “obey the rules”, and to live up to their own notions of morality, led them to abandon another unwell student at a hospital even as her health worsened rapidly. The unwell student was a tribal girl from a remote hamlet in Attappady.
Affected by the dreaded genetic disorder sickle cell anaemia, second-year degree student Bhuvana is still receiving treatment at the Government Medical College Hospital in Thrissur, about 200 kms away from her native Dasannur tribal hamlet in Attappady, and 120 km away from the college in Palakkad. Her condition remains critical, and doctors are unsure about when they can discharge her. Meanwhile, the lapse on the part of the teachers has evoked protests from teachers and students of Victoria College, forcing the Higher Education Department to initiate a detailed inquiry.
In the last week of September, Bhuvana started undergoing extreme pain and bleeding due to her medical condition, sickle cell anaemia - an inherited disorder prevalent among tribals in Idukki, Wayanad and Attappady. Bhuvana was at the college hostel then and fellow students soon forced the hostel warden and resident tutor to take her to the district government hospital nearby. After giving primary care, the district hospital authorities referred her to the medical college hospital in Thrissur for expert treatment. An ambulance was arranged to take her there.
In the ambulance bound for the Thrissur medical college, Bhuvana was accompanied by a hostel mate, hostel warden Sreekala and resident tutor Sherlin. By the time they reached Thrissur, Bhuvana’s condition had turned worse. But the teachers were reportedly in a hurry to return soon after getting Bhuvana admitted to the emergency section. Though the hostel mate of Bhuvana wanted to stay with her till her parents reached the hospital, the teachers had dispirited her by citing the cut off time of 7pm. They even said any further delay in reaching the hostel would be treated as an issue of morality.
In the face of strict warning from teachers, the girl left the hospital with them, leaving Bhuvana behind all alone. The teachers said they had already informed tribal promoter in-charge of her tribal settlement in Attappady and the promoter had ensured safekeeping of Bhuvana. But Bhuvana was left unattended for several hours, without even food or water.
“It is true that the student remained alone in the hospital for several hours. As soon as the issue was brought to the attention of the rest of teachers, the college principal and two other teachers went straight to the medical college in spite of the odd hours, offering maximum help to the student, and they remained at the hospital until the family members arrived,” said an assistant professor of the college, who refused to be named.
Bhuvana’s parents, Ponnamma and Nanjappan, say that they received information about her hospitalisation only by 4 pm that day. As Thrissur is about 200kms away from their hamlet, they were able to reach the hospital only after midnight. However, a tribal welfare officer known to the family reached the hospital by 9pm, only to see Bhuvana in a state of extreme pain, bleeding profusely, thirsty and hungry. He took care of her and remained in the hospital until her parents arrived.
“My daughter clearly briefed the hostel authorities soon after joining there about the nature and gravity of her disease. She even carries her medical records wherever she goes. So, leaving her unattended in a hospital ward in critical condition is extremely cruel,” says Ponnamma, mother of the girl.
“The girl has faced severe injustice from the two teachers, who are supposed to be her custodians. Sickle cell anaemia patients in acute stage must not be left abandoned in crowded wards of big hospitals. They need people to accompany them. The teachers should have waited till parents or relatives arrived. At least, they should have allowed the other student to stay back. Humanity stands above everything,'' points out tribal social activist KA Ramu of Attappady.
“What is more important? Reaching the hostel back by 7pm or saving a student’s life? These are all signs of insensitivity. They had the responsibility to remain in the hospital until the family arrived,'' says activist P E Usha.
Though admitted later to intensive care ward, Bhuvana is now back in the general ward, but is under constant observation. Doctors are unsure when Bhuvana would be able to go back to the college to continue her studies.
Agitating students of the college, who demand disciplinary action against the teachers, say the issue raises basic questions on their right to travel, the sensitivity required of teachers to help underprivileged students, and the larger issue of having to follow rules at the cost of care and compassion. The teachers say that they are yet to see the government order extending hostel curfew beyond 7pm, and that they had done their duty to their best levels.
“Some of us are now engaged in a fund-collection drive to support the immediate medical needs of such underprivileged students,” said the assistant professor unwilling to be named.
As per health surveys conducted in Attappady, 20% of the tribal people there are victims of sickle cell anaemia. Among them, 153 people, including Bhuvana, are in the acute stage of the disease. Though all other family members of Bhuvana are carriers of the disease, it is active only in her. Despite that, she completed her Plus Two exams with flying colours from a local higher secondary school, and later moved to Palakkad for higher education. Aware of the gravity of the disease, she normally travels along with all the files related to the disease.