ELURU: Two students of Ravindra Bharathi School in Nidadavole were on Tuesday hospitalised after being thrashed by a teacher. Their parents rushed to the campus on being alerted and demanded an explanation from the institute’s management. Social science teacher Ramalingeswara Rao allegedly lost his cool and hit Ch Akash and Harshavardhan with a stick when they failed to turn in their assignments on time.
The seventh graders, one of whom has sustained grievous injuries, are being treated at Nidadavole Government Hospital. On hearing about the incident, Mandal Education Officer Papa Rao reached the school and enquired about the matter to the agitating parents and students. Interestingly, the parents finally handed over a letter to the MEO saying Rao had scolded the students for not submitting the assignment and had not intended to beat them.
The stick allegedly “accidentally fell on the two” and injured them. Akash’s father Chakka Udaraju wrote a letter exonerating the teacher and Harshavardhan himself wrote to the MEO stating Rao had done nothing wrong.
Academic stress
The development comes in the wake of several students in the state resorting to suicide due to the pressure to perform well in their examinations. A campaign by TNIE had forced the government to take notice and bring about changes in the functioning of junior colleges in the state. Parents, however, seem to be indifferent and in some cases approving of the pressure put on students by schools and coaching institutes.