A thirteen-year-old boy studying in a private school in Bengaluru was asked to go home and fetch his notebook ‘which he had forgotten’ to bring to class - and he walked five kilometres to do that on Friday.
A day later, it was found that the book was in the school.
The boy’s father, who strongly objected to the manner in which the school had treated his son, lodged a complaint with the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights against the authorities of the Sandeepani Niketan English High School.
Speaking to The Hindu, Shankar Shinde, father of the class eight student, said he was disturbed as his son had undergone a surgery last month and was still recovering from it. The boy is dropped at school by his family everyday.
“What is worse is that the classwork notebook, which the teacher claimed was at home, was later found in the school. My son insisted and kept trying to tell the teacher that it was in class but she refused to listen,” he said.
Questioning the school’s decision, Mr. Shinde alleged that some other children who had forgotten their classwork also were made to go back home. “When I confronted the principal, she said she did not know that we lived far away. How can the school send a child alone to the house to get a book,” he asked.
His son came home in the afternoon after the long walk and his feet were hurting and yet he was anxious and worried about how his teacher would react, Mr Shinde said. He then asked his father to accompany him to the school.
Although the parents are worried about how the school may react, Mr. Shinde said he decided to seek action against the staff so that other children do not go through such a “form of punishment”.
The Commission has said that they would issue summons to the school management and inquire into the incident. Despite repeated attempts, the principal was not available for comment.
Y. Mariswamy, Member of the Commission said it was also against the Karnataka State Child Protection Policy.
“Besides the teacher, we will also try to investigate how the other school authorities allowed the boy to go home unaccompanied. We will have to see if the Child Protection Committee failed to set up safety mechanisms,” he said.
RTE Act violated?
Child rights experts said the manner in which the school treated the boy was wrong and demanded the teacher’s suspension. V.P. Niranjan Aradhya, Fellow, Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, said the school may have violated section 17 of the RTE Act which states that “no child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment.”
Sowjanya, Commissioner for Public Instruction, said the incident appeared to be a case of corporal punishment and the department would seek a report from the Block Education Officer.
A day later, it was found that the book was in the school.
The boy’s father, who strongly objected to the manner in which the school had treated his son, lodged a complaint with the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights against the authorities of the Sandeepani Niketan English High School.
Speaking to The Hindu, Shankar Shinde, father of the class eight student, said he was disturbed as his son had undergone a surgery last month and was still recovering from it. The boy is dropped at school by his family everyday.
“What is worse is that the classwork notebook, which the teacher claimed was at home, was later found in the school. My son insisted and kept trying to tell the teacher that it was in class but she refused to listen,” he said.
Questioning the school’s decision, Mr. Shinde alleged that some other children who had forgotten their classwork also were made to go back home. “When I confronted the principal, she said she did not know that we lived far away. How can the school send a child alone to the house to get a book,” he asked.
His son came home in the afternoon after the long walk and his feet were hurting and yet he was anxious and worried about how his teacher would react, Mr Shinde said. He then asked his father to accompany him to the school.
Although the parents are worried about how the school may react, Mr. Shinde said he decided to seek action against the staff so that other children do not go through such a “form of punishment”.
The Commission has said that they would issue summons to the school management and inquire into the incident. Despite repeated attempts, the principal was not available for comment.
Y. Mariswamy, Member of the Commission said it was also against the Karnataka State Child Protection Policy.
“Besides the teacher, we will also try to investigate how the other school authorities allowed the boy to go home unaccompanied. We will have to see if the Child Protection Committee failed to set up safety mechanisms,” he said.
RTE Act violated?
Child rights experts said the manner in which the school treated the boy was wrong and demanded the teacher’s suspension. V.P. Niranjan Aradhya, Fellow, Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, said the school may have violated section 17 of the RTE Act which states that “no child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment.”
Sowjanya, Commissioner for Public Instruction, said the incident appeared to be a case of corporal punishment and the department would seek a report from the Block Education Officer.