Bhubaneswar: An assistant teacher at an upper primary school in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district has been suspended for allegedly thrashing 31 students for not touching her feet after morning prayers.
The incident took place at Khandadeula government upper primary school under Pratimadeipur cluster in Betnoti block on Friday.
According to sources, the assistant teacher, Sukanti Kar, arrived late to school and, while taking classes for students of Std VI, VII and VIII, questioned them on why they had not offered her the customary gesture of respect after the prayer session. She then beat up those students mercilessly with a bamboo cane.
The students sustained injuries due to the severe beating. While a boy suffered a fracture in his hand, a girl became unconscious and had to be taken to a nearby hospital.
The incident sparked outrage among parents, who demanded strict action against Kar, and accordingly an inquiry was conducted by headmaster Purnachandra Ojha, Block Education Officer (BEO) Biplab Kar, CRCC Debashish Sahu and members of school management committee.
“The teacher was unhappy with the students of classes VI, VII and VIII and alleged that they made fun of her,” the BEO told the media, after interacting with the assistant teacher and the injured students.
On Saturday evening, disciplinary action was initiated and the teacher was placed under suspension. “The matter was treated with utmost seriousness given the sensitivity of the incident. The teacher has been suspended pending further proceedings,” the BEO added.
Notably, corporal punishment was banned in schools in the state in September 2004.