An elementary school teacher was suspended following allegations of sexual harassment in Nathahalli Panchayat Union Elementary School on Thursday.
Shakthivel (38) of Pedarahalli in Indur, was allegedly found sexually harassing girls in the panchayat union elementary school.
The complaint was originally made by the public to the administration’s toll free number 1077, following which a child protection team visited the school.
Based on the complaints of the public and the parents, an enquiry was held and it was found that Shakthivel had indulged in sexual harassment.
Speaking to The Hindu , D.Ganesan, District Elementary Education Officer, said the teacher was served suspension orders on Thursday.
Incidentally, Shakthivel was sent on temporary deputation to this school from Solapatty Panchayat Union Primary School in Paparapatty only last month, following disciplinary proceedings.
He was found to have beaten up school children in an inebriated state. Following this, he was transferred to this school on temporary deputation, Mr.Ganesan said.
The incident comes barely three days after a similar case came to light, of cooks sexually harassing primary school children in a residential hostel for scheduled tribes in Harur.
Another hostel
Incidentally, one of the accused was earlier found to have sexually harassed students and was hence transferred to another hostel.
According to Mr.Ganesan, as per the government service rules, the accused teacher should be paid 50 percent salary during the suspension period for six months, and where it exceeds six months, the suspended teacher should be paid 75 percent of the salary.
Most often, it is left to the discretion of the department, and the teachers are often reinstated with an “increment cut or service cut”, says Mr.Ganesan, when asked why erring teachers found guilty of sexual harassment are not dismissed from service as demanded by activists.
“It takes time to verify the back file of the accused teacher and to verify if there was a precedent,” says the DEEO.
