In a disturbing incident of corporal punishment in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, six students were asked to stand naked outside the classroom of a private school under the hot sun for coming late to the class. The incident reportedly occurred on Wednesday, December 26.
Out of six children, three of them were asked by their teachers to stand naked and the rest of them semi-nude. The school correspondent and Headmistress were arrested on December 27 under appropriate sections of the Juvenile Justice Act and Indian Penal Code, reported The New Indian Express. The school’s management had subjected the students to corporal punishments even in the past.
Students arrived late to the classroom
Reportedly, according to the district education department and police officials, the Chaitanya Bharathi English Medium School in Nanasahebpet reopened after Christmas holidays, when five students from two classes aged around 10 years reached late to the school. One of the class teachers, enraged at them, thrashed the three students and sent them out of the classroom.
Later, the teacher came out and asked them to strip and stand naked under the hot sun. Meanwhile, a teacher from another class too carried out the same punishment by making the students stand semi-nude.
Incident went viral over social media
According to NDTV, the incident was captured in a video from the window of an adjacent school, and it went viral on social media. Soon, there were protests by child rights activists and student activists at the Punganur police station, demanding action against the school management. There was a huge outcry from the parents as well.
According to the Hindustan Times, Achyuta Rao, president of the Sangham, filed a petition to the Chittoor Superintendent of Police, appealing that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act be applied against the management of the school. The Pungunar circle inspector also registered a case against Bhuvaneshwari, a teacher of the high school who allegedly carried out the punishment. Rao told NDTV, “Incidents like these can have a deep psychological impact on children. They need to be counselled to cope with the trauma.”
On the other hand, an inquiry was probed and it was gathered that based on the viral videos and photos, the school education department has recommended the cancellation of recognition of school from the next academic year. “Corporal punishment is not acceptable. We have withdrawn the recognition granted to the school and lodged a police complaint,” said Mandal Education Officer Leela Rani, adding that the allegations were found to be true.
The Logical Indian Take
Reportedly, earlier in December, a teacher from Gurgaon in Haryana was suspended for allegedly taping the mouths of two pre-nursery students to keep them quiet in the class when the teacher found them using indecent words in the classroom.
Teachers shape the future of their students and are supposed to be people that their students look up to. Corporal punishment does not mould a student into a better person, but instead makes him or her afraid of learning from their mistakes. A student deserves his or her share of respect, and that is how they grow up to be a good human being. The Logical Indian urges authorities to take strict action against the accused.
Also Read: Why Beating Children (To Teach Them A Lesson) Is Wrong?
