Shillong, Nov 26: The Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU) has condemned the “hazardous” conditions at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Rymbai in East Jaintia Hills after 59 students fell ill with diarrhea, vomiting since November 22.

Accordingly, the Union has served a 15 days deadline to the authorities to address the issue.

An inspection was conducted by the JSU led by its education secretary Khynroo Bocheru Mi Pohsnem after receiving numerous complaints from parents and community leaders about an alleged outbreak of suspected food poisoning in the school.

“(During the inspection), the head boy confirmed 39 students are on sick leave, with over 20 reporting sick just this morning,” Pohsnem said on Wednesday.

He added, “The Medical Officer at PHC Rymbai confirmed to JSU that the spike in diarrhea cases points to food poisoning. He also flagged frequent cases of scabies, indicating a total failure of hygiene protocols.”

The JSU has also rejected the principal’s proposal to shift students within 15 days citing it to be ‘unrealistic’.

“Moving students into an active construction site poses severe safety threats,” Pohsnem said adding “Phase A (approx. 50 Crores) is 95% physically complete but lacks essential internal electrical and plumbing works. Phase B (approx. 20+ Crores) is only 40% complete.”

The JSU has also immediately contacted the Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety (Jowai), who subsequently instructed the Food Safety Officer (FSO) to conduct an on-spot enquiry.

“The FSO’s preliminary assessment has already termed the campus facilities as “inadequate and unhygienic. The kitchen mess was found in deplorable condition. Staff were operating without safety gear (masks/hairnets), toilets are situated in dangerous proximity to the dining hall, creating cross-contamination risks and drinking water was found to be “hard” and rust-colored. Only two RO machines serve 200+ students,”it said.

The JSU has served a 15-day deadline to the authorities to rectify the hygiene issues and water quality at the current campus.

“Failure to comply will force the Union to resort to a different course of action to protect the students,” the education secretary stated further.

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