*Teachers held on assault charge * Staff Reporter
the hindu 03/12/06 http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/03/stories/2006120317850100.htm * St. Patrick's student beaten up by physical instructors * ------------------------------ * * *Akash punished for cracking jokes * *Traumatised boy refuses to go to school * ------------------------------ HYDERABAD: The Gopalapuram police on Saturday arrested two Physical Education Teachers (PETs) working in St. Patrick's High School, Secunderabad on charge of assaulting an eighth standard student of the school, Akash. The teachers were later released on bail, the police said. A case was registered under Section 324 of the IPC (causing hurt). Thirteen-year-old Akash Vijayvargiya, with pain and fear writ large over his tender face, was pleading with his father not to send him back to school. FIR lodged The Class VIII student of St. Patrick's with a bruise on his left thigh and scratches on his right ear, after allegedly getting beaten up by his physical education teachers on Friday, had accompanied his father to Gopalpuram police station to lodge an FIR against the teachers. "I will not go back to the school because the teachers will beat me again. I want to join a new school. I could not sleep last night because of the punishment," was all that Akash had to say. His father Rakesh Vijayvargiya admitted that Akash was talking to his classmates and cracking jokes when the class monitor complained to the physical education teachers of the school. "They came and started slapping and hitting me with a stick. They slapped me several times and hit me on my thighs with the stick. I will not go to the school because they will beat me again," Akash insisted time and again. The police took the boy to Gandhi hospital for medical examination after which he was given medicines, first aid and advised to rest for a few days. Mr. Rakesh argued that there was no need for the teachers to be so harsh with children. "Cracking jokes is common in any school. The teachers clearly overreacted. They should be sacked from the school because tomorrow it may happen to other children," he said. Principal of St. Patrick's High School Father Williams called the parents on telephone to apologise for the incident. "It is very unfortunate that such an incident occurred in our school. Excessive physical punishment is illegal in any school. I have asked the two teachers to meet the child and his parents and apologise for their behaviour," Father Williams told *The Hindu*. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality." - Dr BR Ambedkar ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA) To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
