As the schools go back and we start to get somewhere resembling normality it is understandable that there may be some trepidation and concern about how safe it is. There are several places in Asia where children have to use ladders to access education and healthcare.  The most notable being the Chinese village where metal ladders were installed to replace the dangerous wooden ones.  Many of the people from the village have now been resettled in a nearby valley making their access to education, healthcare and trade is much easier, however, some families declined the move and have chosen to stay behind and continue with their traditional way of life, even if that means using perilous ladders every time they need to leave the village.

Students in Kedli, Chatra district, have to use a rickety bamboo ladder to reach the top floor classrooms of their newly built school building after the job was left incomplete and the funds ran out.  This leaves 150 students with no alternative but to use the ladder to access some of their classrooms due to there being no stairs in the building.  There are also no windows and the plastering has not been done either, so the structure resembles a derelict barn.

Whether the district governors can find the money to complete the project is uncertain, but it is hoped that the stairs will be built as a priority if the funds become available.  Installing a staircase is reasonably straightforward especially if you're using our space saving stairs or spiral staircases.  These compact styles take up very little floor space and are easy to install.  While they are permitted for use as access to a loft, they are not as sturdy as traditional stairs which are subject to stricter building regulations.  The sheer volume of students using the space saver stairs means they would technically be unsuitable for use in a school, but when the alternative is a much less sturdy homemade ladder we think that spacesaver stairs would be a step up, if you'll excuse the pun.

Stories about the head teacher of the school indicate that he rules with an iron fist and would not take kindly to anyone refusing to climb the bamboo ladder, so the students and their parents have been forced into this situation in order to continue with their education. It is far from ideal for the students in India to have to use this access method.  It would be unthinkable for students at a school in the UK to have to use a ladder to access their classrooms, as Health and Safety would not allow it.

We hope that the district finds the money to build proper stairs for the school building, and to finish the construction to a much higher standard – a standard which includes finished walls and windows!