In a shocking incident, 35 girl students of a government school in Bhilwara district had their hair chopped off by their headmistress for disobeying her directive to tie their hair into a neat ponytail.

The incident happened at the Government Upper Primary Girls School in Borda Suhada village on Tuesday. The headmistress, Anuradha Loyma, had told the girls that they should sport a ponytail.

When the girl students did not follow instructions, Anuradha and three other teachers cut their hair. Several girls were crying while many protested but to no avail.

District Education Officer Satyanarayan Sharma said the girls reported the matter to their families. On hearing, they demanded an audience with the headmistress. However, she was not available and her mobile was also switched off.

People then informed the district collector about the incident following which a team of officials from the education department rushed to the school.

According to Sharma, the headmistress went to the classrooms for inspection after morning prayers. On seeing that the girls did not have ponytails, she allegedly ordered for scissors and started snipping off their hair.

Sharma ordered an enquiry by the block education officer who inspected the school and saw strands of hair lying on the floor in several classrooms.

The team recorded the girls’ statements. The headmistress has been suspended, while three other teachers have been asked to await for a posting order, the officer said.
The school conducts classes for standard 1 to 8 and has only 4 teachers, including the headmistress, leaving the school with no teachers after the incident.