CHENNAI : The Madras High Court has directed the School Education department to provide within eight weeks toll-free telephone numbers in schools and colleges to enable students, their parents, interested persons and members of the public in general to register complaints about indiscipline, illegal activities, irregularities and sexual harassment and also complaints about the conduct of private business or tuition or tutorial classes by the teachers or authorities of the department.
Justice SM Subramaniam gave the direction on April 4 while disposing of a writ petition from R Renganadhan, a headmaster, seeking to quash an order, dated July 24, 2017, of the Coimbatore Municipal Commissioner, transferring him to another school in the same area and to bring him back to SRP Ammani Ammal Girls Higher Secondary School.
While rejecting the plea, the judge, however, pulled up the Commissioner, who had effected the transfer of one Mallika as headmaster of SRP Ammani Ammal School following her representation, but informed the court in his counter that the transfer had been made due to administrative reasons.
The judge also directed the School Education secretary to display toll-free phone numbers and details of the authorities in the notice board at all schools and educational institutions across the State in bold letters in visible places, which would be accessible to the parents, students and the public in general. The complaints, if any registered, shall be attended to immediately by the designated authorities.