TN to form committee to look into sexual harassment complaints from students: Minister

The Tamil Nadu government is mulling constituting a separate committee to look into complaints of sexual misconduct and harassment from school students, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said on Tuesday. His comments came as a 59-year-old teacher of a prestigious school in Chennai was arrested under POSCO Act for sexually harassing his students.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat here, the minister said the government will also send a reminder to all schools asking them to strictly follow the guidelines for online classes. The arrested teacher is also accused of conducting online classes by just wrapping a towel around his waist.

Read | Chennai school teacher accused of sexual harassment arrested under POSCO Act

“We are considering forming a (separate) committee to look into such complaints and ensure all genuine complaints are acted upon. We will do it...But we also want to make sure that this is not used against the teaching community. It is a very sensitive issue, and we will act on it,” Anbil Mahesh said.

He refused to comment further on the teacher's case, saying the police is already investigating the case.