TIRUPUR: Students of the Bethampoochapalayam Government Middle School in Palladam taluk are made to clean toilets, allege the parents.Bethampoochapalayam is an economically backward area, where most people are daily wagers. Nearly 250 children study in the government school. “We cannot afford to send our children to private schools and they are being made to clean the school toilets,” alleged a parent.
When the parents took up the issue with the headmistress, T Krishnaveni, she dismissed the allegation. However, the parents claim that she also told them that the school did not have a regular sweeper to clean the toilets.
Since the practice continued, the parents took it up at the parent-teacher meeting last week. The headmistress told the parents that the teachers had only asked the children to pour more water after they use the toilets.However, the children were made to clean the toilets even after that, claim the parents. One parent clicked photographs and made videos showing the children cleaning toilets. These went viral in the social media on Thursday.
When contacted, the headmistress said, “Those photographs are fake. These students do not belong to our school. The DEO inspected the school and even conducted an inquiry and found out that these complaints are false”.When Express contacted the DEO, he said that he had inspected the school and was waiting for some proof to take action. On being apprised about photographs and videos of children cleaning toilets, he was evasive in his reply.
When asked about it, Collector K S Palanisamy said he was not aware of the matter, but would ask the Chief Educational Officer to look into the complaint and file a report.The photographs and videos of the children cleaning the toilets is out in the open and it is up to the authorities to establish the facts and take necessary action, said the parents.