Staff Reporter / New Delhi / Jaipur
In the wake of the heartbreaking school building collapse in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district that claimed the lives of seven children and injured 28 others, the Union Ministry of Education has issued a nationwide directive mandating urgent safety measures in all schools across the country.
On Friday morning, tragedy struck the Piplod Government Upper Primary School when a portion of the building housing Classes 6 and 7 collapsed during morning prayers, burying nearly 35 students under the rubble. Grief and outrage swept the region as locals alleged prior warnings about the building’s condition were ignored by authorities.
Responding swiftly to the incident, the Ministry of Education has now instructed all States and Union Territories to conduct immediate safety audits of school infrastructure as per national safety codes. The directive includes compulsory emergency preparedness training for staff and students, strict preventive safety protocols, mechanisms for timely reporting of unsafe conditions, and access to psychosocial support through counselling and peer networks.
The Ministry stressed the need for collective responsibility — urging education departments, school boards, and affiliated authorities to implement the measures without delay to avoid any repetition of such preventable tragedies.
The Rajasthan administration has launched an investigation, but the incident has once again brought to light the glaring gaps in school infrastructure monitoring and the urgent need for accountability and proactive safety planning across India.