The Madras High Court Bench here has refused to interfere with an order passed by Joint Director of School Education (Personnel) on April 9, suspending from service a government school teacher accused of sponsoring a liquor party, which was organised by outgoing Class X students of a high school at Mukkanamalaipatti in Pudukottai district.
Justice S. Vaidyanathan dismissed a writ petition filed by the Tamil teacher, challenging the suspension order, quoting Mahatma Gandhi: “A teacher cannot be without character. If he lacks it, he will be like salt without its savour. A teacher must touch the hearts of his students. Boys imbibe more from the teacher’s own life than they do from books.
“If teachers impart all the knowledge in the world to their students but do not inculcate truth and purity amongst them, they would have betrayed them.” He also quoted former President S. Radhakrishnan: “A teacher must be an example of good conduct. He must inspire the pupils who are entrusted to his care with love of virtue and goodness.”
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Beginning his judgment with the Sanskrit verse: ‘Gurur Brahma, Gurur Vishnu, Gurur Devo Maheshwara,’ which elevates the position of a teacher to that of God, the judge said the High Court in a judgment rendered in 1990 had said: “It is a very lamentable state of affairs that, in this country, a teacher who is considered equal to God, should fall from the highest pedestal to the lowest level.”
The writ petitioner claim that he gave Rs.500 to the students on their request and on the promise of being repaid, only for purchasing cakes and savouries to celebrate the farewell party did not cut ice with the judge, who said such a defence before the court could not be a reason to either set aside or stay the suspension order, pending a full-fledged enquiry into the issue.