Principal of BBMP school in the dock for harassing students

For several months, students in the 6 to 14 age group at a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP primary school at Lakkasandra) were allegedly harassed by the principal who would force them to strip, take photographs of them in their underwear, humiliate them in the classroom, cane them and even make them perform personal chores, such as selling snacks after school. The BBMP after conducting an inquiry based on a complaint filed by ChildLine suspended the teacher on Wednesday. During the inquiry, students also confided to civic officials that the principal, Sulochana, would force them to massage her, and charge them for free material provided by the government such as textbooks, shoes, and so on. “The behaviour of the teacher is unacceptable and she has been suspended based on the preliminary investigation,” said BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad. Video submitted The harassment first came to light after ChildLine took up the matter with the civic body last month, and submitted a video of the teacher caning a student in the classroom for not writing a letter of the Kannada alphabet properly on the blackboard. Following this, the civic body took up the matter two weeks ago and initiated an inquiry. The inquiry, however, revealed that inflicting corporal punishment was just one form of abuse. S.G. Raveendra, Special Commissioner (Education), said that during the inquiry, all the students of the school confided that Sulochana would torture them and use foul language. “We’ve been told that she would use foul language and if she caught a girl and a boy exchanging glances in the classroom, she would humiliate them,” said Mr. Raveendra. Vasudev Sharma, Bengaluru nodal director, ChildLine, said it was violation of child rights and also pointed out that corporal punishment was violation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. The civic body, however, has not registered a police complaint and are waiting for the final report to be submitted before taking action. Children humiliated The principal would allegedly force them to strip down to their underwear and then take photographs. The humiliation did not end there. For months, principal Sulochana reportedly made students give her a massage in the school, get them to come to her house to do chores such as washing dishes and babysitting her grandchildren, and forced them to hawk food items that she had prepared. Students at the BBMP Primary School in Lakkasandra were between six to 14 years old. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, on Wednesday, issued a suspension letter, a copy of which is with The Hindu. ‘Paying for textbooks’ “She reportedly asked students to pay money for many of the free material provided by the government, including shoes, textbooks, bags, and notebooks. We’ve been told that she would use foul language and if she caught a girl and a boy exchanging glances in the classroom, she would humiliate them,” said Mr. Raveendra. Vasudev Sharma, Bengaluru nodal director, ChildLine, said it was violation of child rights and also pointed out that corporal punishment was violation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009. Mr. Raveendra added that the BBMP would sensitise the teachers that corporal punishment was against the law. The civic body, however, has not registered a police complaint and are waiting for the final report to be submitted before taking action. Source: The Hindu