A 12-year-old student of the Government Higher Primary School at Malagala near Sumanahalli in the city was allegedly beaten up by his English teacher on Monday for faring poorly in his Mathematics and English exams.
The assault came to light on Tuesday after a member of the School Development Management Committee lodged a complaint before Block Educational Office (BEO) South 1.
When The Hindu visited the school on Wednesday, the Class 7 student showed the bruises and lacerations he had suffered in the beating and said he went to a hospital for first aid as he was bleeding.
What happened
Narrating the incident, the boy said that he had performed poorly in the Mathematics and English examinations conducted last month and his teacher, Prathima H.S., who was evaluating papers on Monday, asked him to write answers to the questions he had skipped. “I was writing the answers and my hands were paining, so I went to eat lunch. As soon as I came back the teacher started hitting me above my elbows with a stick. I started crying and asked her not to hit me but she did not listen.”
The boy also mentioned that he continued to write the answers even as his hands were bleeding as he was “very scared” of his teacher.
Another student of the school, from Class 8, who accompanied the boy to the hospital, said: “The teacher suddenly got angry and started beating the boy. He was crying and asked her not to hit him, but she continued beating him with the stick some six times.” The beaten boy said his parents did not want to complain as they feared that it would affect his results next week.
Sitting in a corner bending his head down, the traumatised boy said: “Every time I open the book after that day, I remember the teacher. I did not want to come to school but I love my friends and school, so I came back. But I hope the teacher never beats others like she beat me: it hurts a lot.”
