By M L Satyan

Bengaluru: Schools have always been considered “temples of knowledge.” In the recent years, we have been witnessing child sexual abuses by teachers, illegal sexual relationships between students and teachers, drug/substance abuse by students, murders – students murdering co-students or teachers, unethical practices during examinations and corruption etc. in educational institutions.

Some latest examples are given here.

Rajagopal, a teacher at Chennai’s Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School has been accused of harassing female students, body shaming them and sending lewd texts. This is one of the prestigious schools affiliated to CBSE with three branches and other affiliate schools spread across the city. The school has among its alumni such illustrious names like music composers AR Rahman, GV Prakash and Anirudh and singers like Harini, Harish Raghavendra and Saindavi.

Following complaints of sexual harassment from students and alumni against the male teacher, the school suspended him pending inquiry. “Some very serious allegations of misconduct have been alleged against you and the same has come to the knowledge of the management from and through social media. Pending further inquiry into your conduct, without prejudice, you are under suspension with immediate effect,” school principal Geetha Govindarajan said in an order issued to the teacher.

After the posts on Instagram and Facebook had gone viral, the school education department conducted the inquiry at the school. Speaking to the reporters, school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said the department would take action against the teacher if he is found guilty.

It all started during an online discussion on incidents of discriminations faced by the students. Soon, many students started to share their experiences which were then shared on Instagram by model and alumni of the school M Kripali. Students alleged that a teacher in the school had conducted an online class in a semi-naked position. A student shared a screenshot alleging that the same teacher asked her whether she was free to go out for a movie with him.

As per the students, they had complained against the teacher in the past. But the management had not taken any suitable corrective action. They said that the school knew about the alleged misconduct but chose to ignore it. The alumni further demanded that Rajagopal should not be involved in any kind of academic activities including grading of test or exam papers.

Asking for an impartial enquiry by the Child Protection Committee and also suitable legal action against the teacher, the alumni urged the management to ensure that “no adverse, penal or retaliatory action be taken against the students who have raised the complaints.” The suspended teacher faces charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The police have also listed charges of outraging modesty and sharing sexually explicit material under the IT Act.

Does the story end here? No. The more you dig, more skeletons come out. PSBB’s history of casteism and harassment coming to light has exposed a slew of sexual harassment and misconduct cases in several other prestigious Chennai schools and universities such as Sastra University and Maharishi Vidya Mandir. One such school is Chettinad Vidyashram, located in Chennai.

In the wake of social media platforms being flooded with complaints and testimonials, several alumni of various institutions issued a Form titled“Chennai Schools Reporting Initiative” which aimed to anonymously collect student reports of inappropriate behavior and misconduct at schools for systematic collation.

The complaints range from caste-based discrimination, sexist statements, inappropriate behavior, spying on students, slut-shaming, moral policing, and more. The sexually perverted teachers have reportedly made judgmental remarks about girls’ bodies, shamed and bullied boys publicly for underperforming in tests, etc. Such experiences have left students disturbed, bereft, and scared forcing some of them to battle anxiety and depression even after their school life.

The most alarming part, however, is that some of these complaints have been put forth by batches of the school dating back to the 1990s. A former student at one of the schools, who did not want to be named, told NDTV: “I have received around 200 complaints, some have suffered even sexual assault. I am trying to get in touch with the management to initiate an enquiry now. Since these complaints are largely anonymous, they cease to be legally actionable. For legal action to be taken, formal complaints must be filed to the school via the principal’s official e-mail address.”

The State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) has issued summons to the administrators and teachers from three schools in Chennai, following child sexual abuse allegations raised by students and alumni. Students from one school have also been summoned. They have been summoned on June 8 and 10 respectively. The SCPCR team led by Saraswathi Rangasamy, chairperson of the commission, inspected Maharishi Vidya Mandir (MVM) and Chettinad Vidyashram after the commission received complaints from students and alumni.

Summonses have also been issued to authorities of St. George Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School after some former students raided allegations against a faculty member. “The commission after getting complaints through e-mail decided to look into the matter. After inquiring, we will submit a report to the government making appropriate recommendations to the respective department heads and the government,” said Rangasamy.

Questions we need to raise are:
• Do schools really have “Child Protection Policy” and follow it?
• Is it not the moral and ethical responsibility of schools to safeguard the interests of their students?
• Would these schools have taken action or complied with the Commission’s orders without alumni outrage and burgeoning media pressure?
• Is expecting accountability from schools a faraway dream?
• Will these schools get away scotfree?
• Can we continue to call schools “temples of knowledge”?

Let us hope that justice is done to the affected students. It is high time for every educational institution and the government to wake up and introduce meaningful reformations in the education system. Let every school become a temple of knowledge in its true sense.