A premier city school has come under the scanner following cases in the High Court and Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, triggering a debate over treatment meted out to students in schools.
It all began with the expulsion of a boy, a Class 12 student of St. Thomas Central School in the city, on charges of giving a girl studying in Class 11 a hug after an arts competition. The school did not accept the explanation that the gesture was congratulatory, though the students tendered apologies.
Boy moves rights panel
The boy moved the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights seeking the right to continue education and accusing the school authorities of violating his privacy by accessing his Instagram account. The school authorities got a favourable verdict from High Court against the panel’s order upholding his right to education.
The High Court order has opened up the question of a child’s right to continue education. The boy’s family allege that they were verbally abused by the school authorities, aspersions cast on the boy’s upbringing, and he was refused a hearing. Slur words were used, and the school society secretary said he should be punished like the godman who was in the news after his genital were gashed not long ago.
They alleged that the school had violated the privacy of their child by hacking into his Instagram account that was private, taking screenshots, and circulating the photographs among school authorities to tarnish his image. The school’s claim that the photographs were obscene were untrue, they said.
They alleged that by first suspending and then expelling the student, his right to education was being denied. They plan to approach a division bench of the High Court against the expulsion.
Child rights experts say the schools should have resorted to counselling and given the boy a second chance, especially as he was to appear for the Class 12 Board examinations in a couple of months, instead of keeping him away from school for days and later expelling him. They highlight the role of schools as a corrective mechanism, saying any apprehensions should have been shared with the family.
Circulation of the students’ photographs was a violation of their privacy, they said, expressing apprehension that other schools may resort to similar disproportionate measures and expel the students for minor transgressions. School authorities, however, deny the charges, saying the students refused to heed the teacher who spotted them hugging. They denied hacking into the students’ Instagram account, and said the pictures were brought to them by other students. There is need to maintain decorum in school, else it would result in such indiscipline by many more students. The family, they alleged, were supporting the student’s actions after the initial apology. “We did not suspend the student immediately. We allowed him to appear for the Onam examination.”
The girl, they said, had just joined the school and had not produced her transfer certificate or paid the fee, and so there was no question of expelling her.
