Mayurbhanj: A 6-yr-old student of Kaptipada Upper Primary school was allegedly thrashed black and blue by his teacher Jayant Kumar Mallick for his innocent prank. According to his mother, “Around 1 o’clock, my son was trying to bring out a dead snake from a drain near the school with the help of a stick. Some students complained the teacher against him, who in turn beat him mercilessly with a cane.”
“He came home crying at around 4 pm, and even had developed fever. His back was having red marks all around. We applied ice and ointment as first aid before bringing him to the hospital where he was administered with proper medications.
The parents have lodged a complaint at the Taptipada PS against the erring teacher.
In 2010, the Odisha government decided to make schools punishment-free zones after an 11-year-old student died due to corporal punishment by his teacher in Bargarh district.
As per law, no student shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment and whosoever contravenes this provision shall be liable for disciplinary action.
In December 2019, a headmistress of a government-run school in Paradip was arrested and sent to jail on charges of meting out corporal punishment to a nine-year-old girl student.
In 2020, the visuals of a school teacher thrashing students after making them kneel down on verandah in Keonjhar went viral on social media and subsequently the teacher was suspended.
Several incidents of corporal punishments have been reported from schools in Odisha now and then. With so many incidents of corporal punishments coming to the fore, the major question now is how can the government ensure that all schools become ‘punishment-free zones’ in the truest sense.
