COIMBATORE: The school education department issued a memo to the secretary, headmaster and teachers of a government-aided school in the city regarding an incident in wherein two students allegedly swept the road to draw kolam in front of the school at Nanjundapuram, on Tuesday. A video of the incident surfaced on social media, after which officials took the decision.
Coimbatore District Educational Officer (DEO) for Secondary Education, T Gomathi, told TNIE that as per the RTE Act, students should not be engaged in physical work in schools as it violates child rights. “We have issued a memo to the school secretary, headmaster and teachers regarding the incident, seeking an explanation. An inquiry will be launched at the school soon after Pongal holidays. The inquiry report will be submitted to higher officials for further action,” she said.
S Chandrasekar, Coimbatore zonal secretary of Palli Kalvi Paathukappu Iyakkam, condemned the incident and urged the school education department to take departmental action against those who involved students in physical work.
“The school education department frequently says that headmasters and teachers should not assign physical work such as cleaning the campus, removing bushes or cleaning toilets to students. However, some headmasters and teachers follow these bad practices and students are left to suffer,” he said.
Chief Educational Officer R Balamurali was unvailable for a comment.