MCD transfers Kishangarh school principal after teachers allege harassment

Teachers also alleged that when one of them went to the DDE to complain about the issue, around five months ago, she was sent home and her written complaint was not accepted.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Thursday transferred principal of a school run by the department in Kishangarh to another school in Rohini after teachers claimed that they have been complaining about the principal’s alleged harassment and threats, but no action was being taken against him.

The teachers also sent a letter, also seen by HT, to MCD councillor and education committee head Yogesh Verma.

Avdesh Mahto joined the school in 2019 and the teachers said he behaved inappropriately with them for two and a half years. The allegations against him include sexual harassment, casteist slurs, threats to the teachers and their families, and abusive language, on a daily basis.

“He would start sending obscene and inappropriate messages from three in the afternoon and it would go on till midnight or even later, in the school’s official group. We used to wake up and see our group’s flooded with 150-200 messages. He would later delete them,” a female teacher from the school, requesting anonymity, said.

“When we complained to the deputy director of education in our zone, she told us to ignore his messages and block him on WhatsApp. But this was not possible for us as we work with him,” said a male teacher from the school.

HT reached out to the DDE from the south zone for a comment, but they did not respond.

Another teacher claimed that when they confronted him, he would target them and specifically monitor their behaviour.

“If he would see us talking to a male teacher, he would flag both of us in the group. Teachers talk when the class is dispersed or during break times, he would click pictures then threaten us that we don’t perform our responsibilities and that he will use it against us,” said another teacher.

“Whenever a teacher would tell him to stop messaging in the group, he would start targeting them and take extra inspection rounds in their classes.”

HT reached out to Mahto multiple times for a comment, but did not get a response.

The teachers claimed that they had approached the department of education multiple times over the past few months, but no action was taken. HT has seen a letter sent to the DDE on October 21. The letter was signed by 20 teachers from the school.

Teachers also alleged that when one of them went to the DDE to complain about the issue, around five months ago, she was sent home and her written complaint was not accepted. “Next day, the DDE came to the school, spoke to all the teachers on one to one basis, and then sided with the principal. She instead blamed the teachers, and said that the staff troubles the principal,” said another teacher.

The teachers also sent a letter, also seen by HT, to MCD councillor and education committee head Yogesh Verma. “I have sent a request to the commissioner, for strict action to be taken against the principal and the officials who did not act despite having knowledge of the situation,” Verma said.