Amidst allegations of irresponsibility against the management of the private school where a six-year-old girl was raped, the school’s teachers on Tuesday attempted to defend the school and stood up for the management during a meeting with Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar.
The teachers, who had gathered in large numbers, took a pledge stating that they have faith in their management and that they would focus on the safety of their students. “It is not just the parents but teachers too are equally pained by the incident. However, because one teacher turned out to be at fault, all of us cannot be blamed.
"We have taken utmost care of our students,” said one of the teachers who did not wish to be named.
The teachers had been called by the Minister to share opinions on ensuring the safety of the students after the incident that reportedly occurred on July 3.
The principal said that they want to reopen the school. However, he said that it had been a traumatic experience for teachers due to anti-social elements causing chaos in the premises and wanted them to be kept at bay.
Other teachers said that school buses from other branches also had been stopped on roads by such elements.
Kavita Sahay, the academic head of the branch in Marathahalli, said that each class comprises about 30 students for which two teachers are assigned with the idea being that at least one teacher is always present.
On the security measures, teachers said that an ID card would be provided to the parents, which would have to be produced before picking up their children from the school premises or the bus.
They also requested parents not to send any child who is sick to the school, as allowing a child to leave in the middle of classes would make it difficult to ensure the child’s safety.
CCTV camerasThere is a growing demand for installing CCTV cameras in schools, but Primary and Secondary Education Minister Kimmane Ratnakar on Monday said that it may not be possible to have them in government schools. There are about 49,000 government schools in the State.
“While we are considering installing CCTV cameras in private schools and government hostels, it may not be economically feasible to install them in government schools,” he added.
— Staff Reporter
