A teacher of a government school in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district allegedly blackened the faces of five students with coal and then paraded them through the streets of the village for not attending classes for two days.
The incident took place on September 6 but came out in the open on Monday.
Parents of the students, who attend Class 6 at the Government Middle School in Obari under Deosar block, lodged a complaint with the district administration after the school’s principal failed to act against the teacher.
“When we lodged a complaint with the school principal he didn’t take any action so we complained to the collector,” said an uncle of a victim.
In their complaint, the parents said Ramdarash Prajapati smeared the face of the students with coal as they were absent from school for two days.
“Prajapati humiliated the students. First, he drew a moustache and beard with coal, saying these students have now become adults so they don’t need to listen to anybody. Later, he blackened their whole faces and paraded them on the village road,” father of one of the students said.
The teacher kept harassing the students till their parents reached the school and objected to his actions.
{{/usCountry}}The teacher kept harassing the students till their parents reached the school and objected to his actions.
{{/usCountry}}When the parents asked the reason for shaming their kids publicly, the teacher said he was following instructions. However, he didn’t say who instructed him to do so.
Collector Anurag Chaudhary has initiated an inquiry against the school administration and teacher.
“This is a serious matter because nobody can be allowed to humiliate students publicly. The disciplinary action will be taken against the teacher and school administration after the inquiry. If required, we will lodge an FIR against the teacher,” Chaudhary said.
Despite repeated attempts, the teacher and principal of the school could not be contacted.
Corporal punishment is prohibited in schools in India but it is still seen as an accepted way of disciplining children in the country. Under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, physical as well “mental harassment” of students is prohibited and a punishable offence.
Last week, an 11-year-old girl was sent to the boys’ washroom as punishment for not wearing the school uniform by a teacher at a private school in Hyderabad.
And in August, a private school teacher in Lucknow allegedly slapped a Class 3 student 40 times and dragged him for not responding to roll call, following which she was booked by the police.