Teacher sacked on charge of corporal punishment

The efforts of the RK Nagar police to arrive at a compromise on a complaint of corporal punishment fizzled out, as Seethakathi Matriculation School, Nethaji Nagar, Tondiarpet, on Thursday sacked teacher Fathima, who was accused of beating up a six-year-old UKG student. The girl’s parents stood their ground demanding action. 

According to Abdul Hameed, a tailor based in Tondaiarpet, his daughter Arfan, UKG student at Seethakathi Matriculation School, was badly beaten up by the teacher. The child had not told the parents about the incident but her mother later noticed a bruise on the girl’s thigh. Upon being asked, she told her mother about the incident and parents lodged a complaint with the RK Nagar police. 

Police, however, tried to play down the incident. “It was a small issue being blown out of proportion by the parents. The teacher had given a single whip on the thigh of the child using a small stick and since the girl was very fair it became a prominent bruise. It cannot be taken as a corporal punishment but as a routine disciplinary affair at any school. So we called both the sides and sorted out the issue,” a police official attached to the RK Nagar police station said. 

Abdul Hameed however was not ready for a compromise and insisted that action be taken against the teacher. So, the school principal was contacted who then immediately terminated the teacher. The school administration also apologised to the parents.