Govt school teacher strips student naked, beats him with ‘prickly’ stick; suspended

Senior officer in education department said that child is a student of Class 5 and comes from a Nepalese family.

In a strict action against corporal punishment, the education department, district Shimla, has suspended a government teacher posted in Rohru sub-division after a video of her beating a student with prickly stick surfaced on social media.

The incident is from July this year and the action was taken on Monday after the video surfaced, said a senior official. (File)

The teacher identified as Reena Rathore, posted as the head teacher at Gawana Primary School in the Rohru block, first stripped the student naked and beat him with the prickly bush. The video in which the boy is sen crying received backlash from social media users.

Senior officer in education department said that child is a student of Class 5 and comes from a Nepalese family. The incident is from July this year and the action was taken on Monday after the video surfaced. In the video, a member of SMC is also seen sitting as the teacher beats the child. The teacher is learnt to have told the officials that she had punished the child as he was caught stealing and the punishment was aimed to reform the child to prevent him from lifting things from school.

Taking note of the video the education department has suspended the teacher saying that the act is a direct violation of Section 17 of the RTE Act, 2009, and department’s guidelines prohibiting corporal punishment of children.

An official order issued by the office of the deputy director, school education (Elementary), read, “Reena Rathore, head teacher, Government Primary School (GPS) Gawana, Centre Kutara, Education Block Rohru, has been placed under suspension with immediate effect.”

“It has come to the notice through a widely circulated video on social media that Reena Rathore, HT GPS Gawana (Centre Kutara) E/B Rohru Distt Shimla inflicted severe corporal punishment on a student of the school by deliberately using a prickly bush. This act is a gross violation of Section 17 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and the standing instructions of the Government. This conduct constitutes gross misconduct under Rule 3(1) of the CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964, showing complete lack of devotion to duty and behavior unbecoming of a Government Servant,” read the order.

During the suspension period, the teacher’s headquarters will be the office of the block elementary education officer (BEEO), Sarahan, district Shimla, and she shall not leave the headquarters without prior permission of the competent authority.

The department reiterated that the incident is being viewed seriously as it violates the Right to Education Act, 2009, which explicitly prohibits corporal punishment in schools. Officials added that the government maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of violence or harassment against students, and disciplinary proceedings will follow as per established rules.

This is the second suspension of teachers in the Rohru subdivision in the past four days. Last week, a junior basic training (JBT) teacher posted at a government primary school in Khorsu was suspended after he was found drunk on duty during an inspection by the sub-divisional magistrate