The now-deceased student, Melody Chiputura, died within 30 minutes of being bitten by the highly venomous snake.

According to The Herald daily newspaper, the 17-year-old schoolgirl had gone for sports with her classmates.

When she returned to the classroom after the sports, she was struck on the thigh by the black mamba, which had somehow slithered into the class.

The other students immediately killed the venomous viper. Unfortunately, Melody succumbed to the injuries from the venomous snake.

Melody’s father, revealed he cannot understand how a snake got into the classroom to kill his daughter.

“We received a call 10 minutes after she was bitten. When we arrived at the clinic it was too late. This is hard to accept and it is painful. I don’t understand how a snake can get into a classroom and bite my daughter.

“My daughter had great potential, and she loved going to school. She had great hopes pinned on education, and we had to make sure we provided everything she needed. She was doing History, Psychology and Religious Studies, and her dream was to become a psychologist.”

Speaking on the shocking incident, the headmaster said the traumatized learners are receiving counselling following the death of their classmate.

Deputy provincial education director Dr Themba Mangwiro described the incident as shocking and unique.

“This incident has made us realise that we need to improve disaster risk management which is not given enough attention in schools. We never thought such incidents can happen in a classroom.

“We need to teach our children that snakes don’t want to be disturbed. We heard that this snake wanted to strike another child,” he said.

The teenager made the request at a workshop organised with Unicef in the eastern state of Bihar.

The official responded by saying the girl would soon expect the government to provide free clothes, shoes and even condoms.

Periods are a taboo topic in India, with menstruating women often forced to live under severe restrictions.

Nearly 23 million girls drop out of school annually after they start their periods due to a lack of access to menstrual hygiene facilities.

In Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, only 59% of women use a hygienic method of menstrual protection, according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), the most comprehensive household survey of health and social indicators by the government.

At Tuesday’s Sashakt Beti, Samriddh Bihar (Empowered Daughters, Prosperous Bihar) event in the state capital, Patna, the student asked senior official Harjot Kaur Bhamra if the government could provide girls with free sanitary pads that cost 20-30 rupees ($0.25-$0.37; £0.23-£0.34) in the market.

The student also spoke about the broken toilets at her school and the difficulty in using them. Reports say the audience mainly comprised 15 and 16-year-old students.

Ms Bhamra, who is a senior bureaucrat in the women and child welfare ministry and heads the Women and Child Development Corporation in the state, seemed to be annoyed by the schoolgirl’s questions.

“Why do you need to take everything from the government?” she said. “This way of thinking needs to change. Do it yourself.”

When the teenager persisted in asking for solutions from the government which is voted in by the citizens, Ms Bhamra responded in anger: “This is height of stupidity. Don’t vote, then. Become Pakistan. Do you vote for money and services?”

After a video of her exchange was shared on social media, many called her comments “shameful” and said the officer was “unfit” to be a public servant.

Ms Bhamra later claimed that reporting on the event was “false, malicious and wrong” and threatened to take legal action against a Hindi newspaper which first reported her comments.

“I am known to be one of the most vociferous champions of women’s rights and empowerment,” she said, and blamed “mischievous elements” for trying to “malign” her reputation.