A Dalit student of standard II was forced to remove excreta in a municipal middle school in the district a few days ago. The teacher, R. Vijayalakshmi (35), who made the child do the job, was arrested after the boy’s father lodged a police complaint.
Sasidharan of Ramapuram Pudur Colony told his mother Revathi (28) that Vijayalakshmi forced him to remove the excreta after a classmate defecated in the school. She also allegedly abused him using caste names.
Shocked over the incident, his father R. Veerasamy (33), a load man, along with relatives and members of various Dalit outfits thronged the school on November 13 demanding action against the teacher. After he gave a complaint, the Namakkal police registered a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and arrested her. She was lodged at the Salem Central Women’s Prison. The Education Department placed the teacher under suspension.
Not just the family, but all the 100 households in Ramapuram Pudur Colony are afraid to send their wards to the school.
“I was away on the day when the incident happened and my son spent a sleepless night. He informed me as soon as I came back the next day,” Veerasamy told The Hindu . He also added that his children had become a laughing stock after the incident as other children mock at them.
“This incident of caste discrimination has hurt us much. We will get a transfer certificate and admit our children in another school even though it is far away,” he added.
A former student of the same school S. Gobi said the teacher had asked Dalit students to practice dance for an annual day separately nearly seven years ago, but they had refused.
Residents of the colony alleged that their children had to go to school by 7 a.m., clean the premises and close the gate after school hours every day. With discrimination becoming rampant, Dalit families were beginning to send their wards to other schools. Currently, 10 students from the colony study in the school.
