Teacher in south Bangalore school ‘sent on long leave’

Move follows a student’s complaint that he was ‘staring’ at her

Days after the rape of a six-year-old at a school in Marathahalli shook the city, a physical education instructor of a school on Kanakapura Road has been ‘sent on long leave’ since Thursday following allegations of misconduct. The instructor has been with the school for close to a year.

A parent said that the school sent parents an email about his long leave this week.

The principal said that the decision was taken after an eighth class student complained that he was ‘staring’ at her and she was ‘uncomfortable at the way he looked at her’. The school issued a warning letter on Tuesday. The school “decided to be cautious and sent him on leave for a fortnight” as there was only one complaint against him, she said. A committee would be formed by the management to inquire into the allegation, she added.

However, a parent refuted the claim and said that there are several instances of that particular teacher harassing students. A small group of parents attended a meeting with the management and school staff on Friday. While sources said that the agenda was to discuss the incident, the management said that the meeting was a ‘routine one’ and played down rumours of any unsavoury incident in the school.

A school official said, “Everything is being blown out of proportion” in the light of the Marathahalli case.

Later in the evening,

The Hindu received an email saying that the school has asked the instructor to proceed on long leave. Block Education Officer (South 1) Prakash K. said, “I conducted a workshop for school managements on the new safety guidelines for children. A representative from this school was also present. I am surprised that this case was not brought to my notice.”

Commissioner of Public Instruction Mohammad Mohsin said that the department would inquire into the incident. The new guidelines brought out by the State government this week mandate that schools report such incidents to the Education Department officials, he added.