The Director of Public Instruction (DPI), Kerala on Tuesday ordered the closure of the Jawahar English Medium School at Kudappanakkunnu, Thiruvananthapuram where the principal and a junior teacher had on September 25 locked up a five-year-old boy, a UKG student, in the kennel attached to the school for several hours as punishment for talking to another student in the class.
In a report submitted to the DPI, the Deputy Director of Education (DDE), who inquired into the incident, said that school principal S Sasikala and junior teacher Gopika had acted without considering the tender age of the child. According to the boy, the school authorities had not provided him with food or water despite pleas during the time he was locked up in the kennel.
The DDE found that the private English medium school following the CBSC syllabus did not have the Government’s no-objection certificate or the CBSE Board’s approval. The school had been functioning at Kudappanakkunnu for over the past 20 years. The report said that more inquiries had to be held into the background of the school.
The First Class Judicial Magistrate Court in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday granted bail to principal Sasikala who was arrested on Monday after the news of the caging of the child came out.The police said on Tuesday that a case had also been registered against the junior teacher who had put the child in the cage as per the principal’s instruction.
The child’s elder sister, who was a Class III student in the same school, had seen him in the kennel at least three times on September 25. However, neither of them informed the parents about the incident then as the school authorities had allegedly threatened to “stuff their mouths with tree twigs” if they spoke about it to others.
Jomon, the child’s father, said he came to know of the incident after the children spoke of it to his wife’s sister on Sunday. According to him, his son was kept locked up in the kennel from 10.00 AM to 3.00 PM on September 25. The school premises witnessed tense scenes on Monday after various organizations held protest demonstrations there.
“There is no doubt that there has been gross misconduct and violation of laws from the part of the school authorities,” said Education Minister PK Abdu Rabb on Tuesday. “The school’s closure need not cause any worry to the parents as all the students will be given admission in the schools of their choice,” the Minister said.
Tension prevailed at the school premises on Tuesday also as one section of the parents assembled there demanded immediate closure of the school and another section demanding permission for the school’s continued functioning as it would be difficult for their children to get admission in other schools in the middle of the academic year.
Thiruvananthapuram District Collector Biju Prabhakar had to visit the spot to pacify the parents. He assured that the district administration would make the necessary arrangements for reopening the school on Wednesday and to ensure that all the students received classes there till alternate arrangements were made.