<p>A physical training instructor from another private school in the City has been sent on a “long leave” for alleged misconduct with girls.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The incident comes close on the heels of the arrest of a skating instructor on charges of raping a six-year-old girl at Vibgyor High in Marathahalli.<br /><br />Arifulla D, instructor at Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidyamandir on Kanakapura Road, was sent on leave from July 24 following complaints about his behaviour with girl students.<br /><br />The school principal received a complaint in this regard on July 21 and a warning letter was issued to the instructor the next day.<br /><br />Arif, who has been working with the school for a year, is a fresher with an MPEd degree, authorities said.<br /><br />On Friday morning, the school management held a meeting with parents to discuss the issue.<br /><br />Initially, when some reporters approached the school, the management denied the incident calling it baseless. School Director (Academics) Reshma Ganesh said there was a tendency to “blow things out of proportion these days”.<br /><br />However, later, Principal Suma Athri admitted that Arif was sent on leave and the instructor was given a warning letter for “misconduct”. He would be on leave for 15 days.<br /><br />She maintained that it was not a case of physical proximity. Action was taken on the basis of a complaint by a student who said she was “uncomfortable with the way the instructor stared at her”.<br /><br />Sources said the students were being harassed by the instructor for some time now. The school had sent an email about sending Arif on leave, a parent added.<br /><br />The school management said it needed time to inquire into the incident.<br /><br />Block Education Officer (South Zone I) Prakash K, who confirmed that a meeting was held with all schools in the zone on Friday about the new safety guidelines, said, “Athri attended the afternoon session but did not inform me about any such incident.”<br /><br />Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammed Mohsin felt that “whether it is a small or big incident, they have to bring it to the notice of the department. As far as action from the department is concerned, we can decide only after a complaint is given to us.”<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Art of Living Bureau of Communication said in an email: “We are taking extra precautions to see that no untoward incident can ever happen in the school.<br /><br />We are seeing that all our teachers follow the code of conduct and practise their ‘sadhana’. If they are not doing so, we will take strict measures. In the same context, we have asked our PT master Arif to proceed on long leave...”</p>
<p>A physical training instructor from another private school in the City has been sent on a “long leave” for alleged misconduct with girls.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The incident comes close on the heels of the arrest of a skating instructor on charges of raping a six-year-old girl at Vibgyor High in Marathahalli.<br /><br />Arifulla D, instructor at Sri Sri Ravishankar Vidyamandir on Kanakapura Road, was sent on leave from July 24 following complaints about his behaviour with girl students.<br /><br />The school principal received a complaint in this regard on July 21 and a warning letter was issued to the instructor the next day.<br /><br />Arif, who has been working with the school for a year, is a fresher with an MPEd degree, authorities said.<br /><br />On Friday morning, the school management held a meeting with parents to discuss the issue.<br /><br />Initially, when some reporters approached the school, the management denied the incident calling it baseless. School Director (Academics) Reshma Ganesh said there was a tendency to “blow things out of proportion these days”.<br /><br />However, later, Principal Suma Athri admitted that Arif was sent on leave and the instructor was given a warning letter for “misconduct”. He would be on leave for 15 days.<br /><br />She maintained that it was not a case of physical proximity. Action was taken on the basis of a complaint by a student who said she was “uncomfortable with the way the instructor stared at her”.<br /><br />Sources said the students were being harassed by the instructor for some time now. The school had sent an email about sending Arif on leave, a parent added.<br /><br />The school management said it needed time to inquire into the incident.<br /><br />Block Education Officer (South Zone I) Prakash K, who confirmed that a meeting was held with all schools in the zone on Friday about the new safety guidelines, said, “Athri attended the afternoon session but did not inform me about any such incident.”<br /><br />Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammed Mohsin felt that “whether it is a small or big incident, they have to bring it to the notice of the department. As far as action from the department is concerned, we can decide only after a complaint is given to us.”<br /><br />Meanwhile, the Art of Living Bureau of Communication said in an email: “We are taking extra precautions to see that no untoward incident can ever happen in the school.<br /><br />We are seeing that all our teachers follow the code of conduct and practise their ‘sadhana’. If they are not doing so, we will take strict measures. In the same context, we have asked our PT master Arif to proceed on long leave...”</p>
