MYSURU: The headmistress of a private school has allegedly administered corporal punishment on a seven-year-old student for not clearing the pending tuition fees. The incident took place on February 12 and came to light only on Sunday. On Saturday, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) submitted a report following which the city police booked a case against the headmistress under Section 75 of Juvenile Justice Act.The Class II girl, whose father has filed a complaint with CWC, is one among the 10 to 15 students who were supposed to clear the dues before commencement of annual exams. The girl’s parents were to pay `4,000.
The headmistress allegedly summoned the students from different classes to her chamber, beat them with a cane on their palms, albeit mildly, besides asking them to squat on the floor till afternoon. Upon returning home, the girl narrated the ordeal to her parents, following which they lodged a complaint with the CWC on February 13. A CWC member told The New Indian Express, “The headmistress claimed that she hit the students only ‘mildly’ to build pressure on her parents. She also claimed that she had to take the step as the girl’s father could not be reached over phone. She has, however, tendered a written apology.”
“Following the incident on the second day, the girl’s father contacted me over phone. The girl also narrated as to what happened in the school. Acting on the girl’s version, summons was served to the headmistress,” he added.The headmistress was aware of a circular issued in this regard from the CWC to the office of Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) two months ago.
As per the circular, that had been dispatched to all schools, the managements have to serve notice to parents in case of any such queries, instead of harassing the students. Despite that, she claimed to have hit the students, rather mildly, to build the pressure on parents. Moreover, she also claimed to have taken the step as the girl’s father could not be reached over phone’. The education department is caught in a bind as the accused is a retired teacher who has been recruited as the headmistress by the school management. It’s only in the case of a serving teacher that the department could have initiated action.