TIRUCHY: Videos of a school principal caning a student have gone viral on social media, putting a spotlight on the persistence of corporal punishment despite a government ban on it.
The alleged incident took place at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School, a government-aided institution in Ponmalai in Tiruchy.
The videos, said to be four months old, showed a man in a priest’s attire caning a student both inside the principal’s office and outside the classroom of the school. In another video, he was seen wearing a casual dress and hitting a kneeling student with a cane. The origins of the footage remain unclear. As the videos started circulating on social media, the student’s father,
G Paramasivam filed a complaint at the Ponmalai police station, urging action against the principal, identified as Jerold Francis Xavier.
The school authorities were unavailable as TNIE attempted to get their version of the incident. Chief Educational Officer (CEO) Krishna Priya told TNIE that the department will take swift action. Education department sources confirmed that officials will visit the school on Wednesday for an investigation.
Meanwhile, SFI alleged that the principal repeatedly uses violence to enforce discipline. SFI state joint secretary SG Mohan claimed possession of sufficient evidence on multiple instances of physical punishment at the school. He also said SFI has planned a protest against the principal on Wednesday for violating the ban on corporal punishment and to urge the government to take legal action against him.