Student’s ear injury blows lid off ragging at Palghar school
The incident occurred on September 30, around 11pm, when a group of six Class 11 students, of which one was suspended on disciplinary grounds earlier, had called 35 Class X students under the pretext of giving them instructions in the Udaygiri House (a room of the boy’s hostel which accommodates 24 students)
MUMBAI: A group of six Class 11 students from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Palghar, have been accused of ragging around 35 students from Class 10 residing in the boys’ hostel. One student sustained injury to his eardrum after being slapped by one of the seniors.
The principal, Abraham George, received an intimate about the ragging incident on October 2, when a Class 10 student was referred to an ENT doctor for ear pain.
When asked by the doctor and his parents about the injury, he informed them that he was slapped by one of the seniors. The JNV school management has constituted a committee to inquire into the incident.
The incident occurred on September 30, around 11pm, when a group of six Class 11 students, of which one was suspended on disciplinary grounds earlier, had called 35 Class X students under the pretext of giving them instructions in the Udaygiri House (a room of the boy’s hostel which accommodates 24 students).
The juniors were harassed, and those who came up late were made to stand up, slapped on the face, and a few were hit on their genitals and legs. All of them were sent back to their rooms but were called again around midnight and were hit again to create an atmosphere of fear.
The parents concerned about their wards complained to the principal about the ongoing ragging, the principal then initiated an inquiry in this regard and assured the parents that action would be taken.
The principal agreed that the multi-tasking staff on duty at the time of the incident, who also looks after the boys’ hostel, did not report any misconduct to the school administration. The employee concerned has gone on medical leave from October 2, without any proper information underlines some issues in this matter.
The principal added that the CCTV footage of the corridors will help the facts.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued guidelines for the prevention of bullying and ragging in schools on Mar 9, 2015, which instructs the formation of an Anti-Bullying committee in school, comprising a vice principal, a senior teacher, a school Doctor, a counsellor, PTA representative, school Management representative, legal representative, peer Educators. But the JNV Palghar has no such anti-bullying committee but has an Ad Hoc committee comprising the principal and four housemasters. No record and minutes of such anti-ragging committee meetings are available, which suggests no initiative has been addressed to the students about ragging. The mandatory display of the anti-bulling-ragging committee members along with their contact numbers was not seen in the main part of the school campus either. The JNV school administration admitted to not conducting any anti-ragging session or workshop or inviting any counsellors to address this issue. JNV Palghar has 12 housemasters assisted by 12 associate housemasters who take care of 40 students. Each residential block has 24 students residing in it. There is a multi-tasking staff who looks after the boys’ section during the night to take care of basic primary needs.