On the final day of classes before the summer break at Government Middle School in Krawa, located in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, students were already in a festive mood. They were given sports equipment and permitted to enjoy some time outdoors after lunch. However, for one 13-year-old student, the only thing on his mind was catching up on sleep.
This seventh grader had spent the previous night studying at a local madrasa and had risen early at 3 a.m. for morning prayers. While his classmates engaged in games that Saturday afternoon, he sought refuge inside his classroom, hoping to rest on the benches. Two teachers present encouraged him to join the others outside. Once the teachers left to mark their attendance in the school office, the boy returned to the classroom, laid his head down on a desk, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.
As the afternoon progressed and the other students left for home, the teachers and staff failed to notice the boy sleeping in the classroom. They locked the school premises as it closed for a ten-day holiday.
Approximately four hours later, local residents discovered the locked school and managed to break in to rescue him. A video of the incident gained significant attention online, prompting authorities to take immediate action, resulting in the suspension of all school staff involved.
The boy awoke around 7 p.m. to find himself alone in the locked school. His cries for help reached a nearby resident, who alerted others, and they successfully brought him out, returning him to his parents by approximately 8:30 p.m.
After school, the boy typically attended the madrasa for religious education, a practice his father emphasized to encourage discipline. In contrast, his siblings—two brothers and two sisters—did not participate in madrasa studies.
The boy, who is the second of five children of a local businessman, had been residing at the madrasa hostel for the past two years while also attending the government school during the day. His routine involved school from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., followed by madrasa classes that lasted late into the night. He would then wake up early for prayers, unlike most madrasa students who do not attend government school and manage to rest during the day.
Abdul Waheed, the headmaster of Krawa school and one of those suspended by the Chief Education Officer, stated that he had previously discussed the issue of the boy’s sleep with his parents multiple times. “I had communicated this concern to his parents and also informed the Zonal Education Officer of Banihal,” Waheed noted.
He added that due to the lack of a positive response from the family, he had summoned the boy’s mother to the school on Saturday and emphasized the need for her to choose one educational institution for her son—either the government school or the madrasa—as insufficient sleep was impacting his academic performance and health. The mother reportedly agreed to withdraw him from the madrasa.
The boy’s father explained to The Indian Express that he had enrolled his son in the madrasa to teach him discipline. “He is quite mischievous, and once he gets home from school, he tends to turn on the television. His siblings join him as well,” he said.
The family learned of the incident from local residents, as the madrasa management had not contacted them when their son failed to arrive in the evening. “I have decided to withdraw my son from the madrasa, and he will now focus solely on his studies at the Government Middle School,” the father confirmed.
