Calcutta Boys’ School sent an advisory to parents on Thursday asking them to “refrain from sending” children to school if they were “sick”.

The school has asked parents to keep children at home when they have fever, cough, cold, diarrhoea, vomiting, or any potentially contagious conditions.

Last Friday, a Nursery student of the school died after taking ill on his way to school.

The child was rushed to a private hospital and then to NRS Medical College and Hospital where he was declared dead.

“If a child is unwell, it is essential for them to rest at home to recover fully. We kindly ask all parents to take this notice seriously. If we find that this guidance is not being followed, the school reserves the right to take appropriate action,” says the advisory from Calcutta Boys’ School principal Raja McGee.

Parents sending sick children to school is a problem that several schools face, their heads said.

The problem gets intensified when there are assessments in school and parents do not want their children to miss exams.

It is not uncommon for parents to send their children to school after administering medicines.

In the advisory, Calcutta Boys’ has written: “We would like to emphasise that the health of our students is our top priority. Our schoolhas implemented a multiple assessment system, ensuring that a student’s performance is not adversely affectedby health issues, provided there are supporting medical documents.”

The advisory mentions that if a child has a fever(100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher), they should stay home unless they are free of fever for at least 24 hourswithout using fever-reducing medicines.

They should remain at home for “at least 24 hours after the last episode of vomiting or diarrhoea” the advisory says.

For persistent cough, severe cold or other signs ofrespiratory infections, it’s best to keep them home, the advisory adds.

The advisory has been sent to parents of all four campuses, the main campus on SN Banerjee Road and the other three in Asansol, Sonarpur and Beleghata.

“When children have an exam they are already tensed and sometimes the over expectations of parents from them adds to the stress. The stress gets aggravated if they are unwell,” McGee told Metro.

Even after the incident, the school has identified students who have been sent to school despite being unwell, an official at Calcutta Boys’ said.

In the advisory the school has said to ensure a “healthy and safe learning environment” for all students, the school requests the parents’ cooperation in keeping children “at home when they are unwell.”

“Children who are ill need time to rest and recover. Sending them to school before they are fully recovered can prolong their illness and delay their recovery. Keeping sick children at home helps prevent the spread of contagious illnesses to other students and staff, reducing the risk of outbreaks within the school community,” the advisory says.

Several other schools have had instances of children falling ill while writing an exam.

“It could be that a child is suddenly feeling unwell but there are instances when on questioning we have found out that a child was unwell from before but has been sent to school. This is a perennial problem,” said Nupur Ghosh, vice-principal, Mahadevi Birla World Academy.

In the junior classes, the school has started cancelling a child’s paper if they find out that a sick child has been sent to school only to write an exam and go back home or to the sick room after the paper is over.

“We face this regularly. Sometimes we cannot figure out when parents send unwell children to school after giving a paracetamol. In a few hours when the impact of the medicine is over and then we have to call parents to send them back home,” said Koeli Dey, principal, Sushila Birla Girls’ School.