The weeping mother of two kids who were killed in the school building collapse in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar wished God had spared her children and taken her instead. Locals during the rescue work after a government school building collapsed, in Jhalawar district, Rajasthan, Friday, July 25, 2025.(PTI)

In just a day, the world of many families turned upside down after seven children lost their lives in the Jhalawar school building collapse on Friday.

This particular mother has been hit the hardest as she has lost both her kids, a boy and a girl, and described it as “losing everything.”

“I’ve lost everything. I had only two children, a boy and a girl, and both are gone. My home is empty. There’s no one left to play in the courtyard. I wish God had taken me instead and spared my children,” she was quoted as saying by PTI.

The youngest of those who died was only six years old.

The deceased children were identified as 12-year-olds Payal, Priyanka, Kundan and Kartik, along with eight-year-old Harish. The brother and sister duo were 12-year-old Meena and her brother, six-year-old Kanha, who was the youngest kid to die in the tragedy.

The bodies of the seven children were handed to their families on Saturday morning outside the mortuary of SRG Hospital and Medical College, Jhalawar. Wails of grieving mothers pierced the atmosphere and the hearts of everyone present there.

While some clung tightly to the bodies of their children, others sat there in deafening silence, trying to come to terms with the loss. The bodies of the deceased were cremated shortly after the handover, with five bodies being cremated together while two were given separate funeral pyres.

Questions raised by the Jhalawar school building collapse in Rajasthan

The tragic school building collapse in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district, which killed seven schoolchildren and injured another 28, has raised serious questions about the condition of rural school infrastructure in the state and the systemic neglect that turned a place of learning into a site of mourning.

A woman, who lost her child in the incident, raised questions about the role of the teachers present at the school at the time of the incident.

“The teachers went outside, leaving the children behind. What were they doing outside?” she charged.

Five of the school staffers were suspended, and a high-level inquiry into the matter was ordered. Rajasthan school education minister Madan Dilawar announced a compensation of ₹10 lakh to those families who lost their children.

Jhalawar District Collector Ajay Singh consoled the grieving families on Saturday. Later, talking to reporters, he said appropriate action would be taken against those guilty.

“Five school staffers have been suspended, and a probe committee has been constituted. If needed, an FIR will be registered. If suspension has to turn to expulsion, that will be done,” Singh told reporters.

He said all possible help and support are being given to the aggrieved families, and the school education minister has announced that a new building will be constructed in the village.

He said maximum financial assistance will be given to each family in the next 10 days.

The collector said that there are clear directions for repairing the school building, and the district administration is making efforts to ensure that the incident does not occur again.

“District education officials have been directed not to let students enter schools if the condition of the building is not good,” Singh said.

He said it was unfortunate that the school staff did not provide input regarding the condition of the building.

“If we had received any complaint, we would have got the building repaired and the incident could have been averted,” he said.