Govt school teachers demand security after brutal killing

NEW DELHI: The death of a teacher, Mukesh Kumar, who was stabbed by two Class12 students, has triggered panic among government school teachers and a demand for higher security.

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On several occasions, teachers in government schools raised the issue of deteriorating discipline among students as a major cause of concern. Kumar’s murder could be the last straw.

“Last week during the assembly, a student beat up a physical education teacher in front of everyone. We had to call the police and hand over the student,” said a teacher of government school in Bawana.

He said incidents of student misbehaving with teachers and bringing objects such as knives to school have become regular.

Teachers of the government boys senior secondary school, Sultanpuri Road at Nangloi where Kumar was ateacher, say the students had been threatening them.

Over the last few years, there have been incidents in which teachers were hospitalised after being assaulted by students.

Teachers say they prefer to ignore the indiscipline as they cannot risk their lives.

“Parents also come and charge us sometimes... So it is better to keep quiet then face disrespect,” said a teacher of the government boys senior secondary school in Sonia Vihar.

A teacher who has taught in four different schools in the last 21 years said, “Once I scolded a student, the next moment he walked up to me, took out his phone and asked whether he should file a complaint.”

Now, in the wake of Kumar’s murder, teachers are demanding more security personnel to be deployed in schools.

The government schoolteachers association (GSTA) has written to Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia demanding tight security.

“Security guards of higher standards be employed in schools and beat officers from police should also be placed,” the GSTA letter demanded.