Teacher who punished kids was unqualified: KSPCR

The teacher, who allegedly hit children in a nursery class of an ICSE school in Halasuru and shamed them by pulling down their undergarments, was not qualified for the post, the Karnataka State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (KSPCR) has said.

On Thursday, the commission had summoned the school authorities for a hearing.

“The teacher has actually been a helper earlier. She has only completed PUC, when the requirement, even in a state syllabus school, is PUC with DEd. She clearly did not know how to deal with children,” the commission’s chairperson Kripa Alva said.

Enquiry into the school began after a parent posted a message on social media, charging that her child was repeatedly hit by the teacher and other children had been punished with their undergarments being pulled down in the class.

Alva said that it was not possible to prove that the said incidents occurred since there were no CCTV cameras in the classroom and the children were too young to retell the same.

“But our enquiry has shown that there are serious issues with the school. Nursery classes are being conducted on the first floor instead of ground floor, which should not be done. They do not have CCTV cameras. They do not have enough toilets and so on. It is like a Pandora's Box,” Alva said.

She said the commission will give an order after the inspection. Meanwhile, KSPCR has instructed the school to relieve the nursery teacher of her duties. The deputy director of public instruction will be conducting an inspection of all aspects of the school, she added.