Davanagere: Another school in Karnataka makes students clean toilets

A video has been doing the rounds of social media in which more than 10 girls can be seen cleaning the toilets.

Davanagere:

(DDPI instructed Davanagere north BEO to investigate the matter)

A video has been doing the rounds of social media in which more than 10 girls, dressed in school uniform, can be seen cleaning the toilets.

According to the officials, the video originated from Mellekatte village in Davanagere town.

The students of a government high school in the village were given the task of cleaning the toilets, said officials.

In the viral video, girls aged between 13 and 15 years are seen scrubbing the toilets with brooms and subsequently washing them with the help of buckets.

“The incident came to my notice on Tuesday morning. I immediately instructed the Davanagere north block education officer to conduct an investigation and submit a detailed report,” said deputy director of public instruction (DDPI), G Kotresh.

“The BEO visited the school today (Tuesday) and will submit the report. I will initiate stringent action against erring officials and will also register an FIR if it is found to be true,” he added.

The incident has sparked outrage in the village with residents expressing indignation towards the school staff.

“My daughter told me that the school headmistress instructed a few students to clean the toilets, saying even Gandhiji cleaned toilets,” said Paramashivaiah whose daughter studies in the school.

This incident comes despite recent directives from the state’s school education department, mandating a ban on students cleaning toilets in government primary and high schools.

Despite these measures, similar incidents continue to surface across the state, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing protocols.

On January 14, a headmistress was suspended for making students clean the school toilet at Moulana Azad English School in Kalaburagi district. The education department ordered an inquiry into the matter and filed a complaint against headmistress Johra Jabeena.

Subsequently, the headmistress was arrested, said police officers.

Similarly, on December 27 last year, students of a government primary school were made to clean toilets at Neralakere in Bhadravathi town in Shivamogga district.

The incident occurred in the home district of state education minister Madhu Bangarappa. The education department suspended headmaster Shankarappa, and an investigation into the case is underway, said police.

On December 21, two children studying in class 6 of Government Model Higher Primary School in the Andrahalli area of Bengaluru were forced to clean toilets. This led to widespread protests by parents and civil society on campus.

Officials said, the department of school education and literacy. had suspended the 53-year-old headmistress Lakshmidevamma.

Students from classes 7-9 in Kolar district were also made to clean toilets and excrement pits manually. The incident gained attention when photos of the students cleaning the toilets went viral on social media on December 16.

Police said, only students belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community were brought down to clean the pit at Morarji Desai Residential School.

Police registered an FIR against principal Bharatamma and crafts teacher Muniyappa, and subsequently arrested them.