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Slipper in hand, UP teacher thrashes woman shiksha mitra on camera. Suspended
In the video, the school’s head teacher Ajeet Kumar is seen hitting the shiksha mitra with a slipper at least four times before others intervene and hold him back
A head teacher of an Uttar Pradesh school was suspended on Friday after he was seen in a widely-circulated video thrashing a woman shiksha mitra, or para teacher, with a slipper.
Ajeet Kumar, the head teacher of Mahangukheda Basic School in Lakhimpur block, has been suspended with immediate effect by the Lakhimpur Kheri district Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Dr Laxmi Kant Pandey, officials said.
In a 20-second video clip, Ajeet Kumar is seen hitting Seema Devi with a slipper at least four times before others intervene and hold him back. The incident took place early on Friday but the provocation is not clear.
Pandey said the head teacher has also been shifted to the Pasgawan junior high school on the basis of the preliminary report submitted by the block education officer (BEO) Subhash Chandra Kheri.
Officials said Ajeet Kumar’s suspension was ordered on charges of humiliating a woman ‘shiksha mitra’ Seema Devi, maligning the image of the department, and violating the code of conduct for school teachers.
The teacher has been transferred to ensure a fair probe by a three-member panel comprising two BEOs, Subhash Chand and Behjam Devesh Roy, and the district coordinator for girls’ education Renu Srivastava.
A ‘Shiksha Mitra’ is a primary school teacher appointed on a contractual basis by the Basic Shiksha Parishad (Education Board) of the Uttar Pradesh government, under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011.
Pandey also told the district’s block-level officials to keep a closer watch on the schools and resolve possible conflicts between teachers. He warned that such incidents reflected poorly on the basic education department and they could face action if similar instances are reported from schools in their respective jurisdiction.
