Himachal sees third case of severe thrashing of school student in less than 2 weeks

In less than two weeks, a third case of alleged severe thrashing of a school student has surfaced in Himachal Pradesh after a Class IV student was beaten by his teacher on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at a primary school in Solan district, and a complaint was lodged following the medical examination.

The parents alleged that the school teacher had beaten their son using a steel ruler and slapped him so hard that his head hit the corner of a window in the school, resulting in bleeding.

This is the third case of severe punishment for kids in recent days.

On November 2, three teachers, including the headmaster of a Government Primary School in Rohru subdivision of Shimla district, were booked for physically assaulting an eight-year-old Dalit boy and placing a scorpion in his pants.

Earlier, on October 28, a teacher at Government Primary School Gawana, also in Rohru, was suspended for inflicting severe corporal punishment on a student by beating him with a prickly bush.

Shobha Thakur, mother of the child, alleged that Junior Basic Teacher (JBT) Jai Kumar had beaten her son. She was informed that the student's head was put under a tap to stop the bleeding, and the child was not even taken to the hospital by the school authorities. Thakur said that earlier, too, her son was beaten up, and she had raised the issue during the parent-teacher meeting.

When contacted, Elementary Education Director Ashish Kohli said that the deputy director of Education, who is also the appointing authority for JBT, has been asked to seek a report and take the necessary action in this regard. The deputy directors have also been directed to ensure accountability of teachers, he added.