Tuesday, Jun 17, 2003
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Tamil Nadu
By K.T. Sangameswaran
In their complaint, Sarangapani and P.S. Chandrika, said Ramu Abhinav (16), their only son, was attending classes regularly in the Velammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School at Mogappair. On previous occasions also, Abhinav complained that he had been severely beaten up for small and minor mistakes. The parents said they reported the matter to the school authorities and requested them to desist from "brutal activities"; but the treatment continued not only for their son but also for other pupils. On June 10, Abhinav requested permission to stay away from an evening coaching class in Tamil. The next day the mathematics teacher beat up Abhinav and other students for securing low marks in a class test. He suffered bruises in the right cheek. Later, the Tamil teacher dragged him to the headmaster's room for an enquiry. The Tamil teacher apparently reported that he had not given consent for Abhinav not attending the special class. The boy was beaten up again. Moreover, the teacher and the headmaster threatened the boy that he would be put in "the Cell". Fearing this punishment, Abhinav felt depressed and informed his mother, who consoled him. Similar petitions were filed by parents of other pupils, who submitted that when the management was informed of the suicide by Abhinav, there was not an iota of remorse or regret. No school representative visited his residence or attended the funeral. The Tamil Nadu Child Right Protection Network has also filed a petition. Visibly agitated and shocked parents of wards, including Mrs. Chandrika Sarangapani, who presented petitions to the SHRC, were vocal narrating the sufferings of pupils. When teachers beat up students of a class, pupils in the neighbouring class too underwent mental trauma, a parent complained. Students were afraid of being confined to the "Cell Class", meant for poorly performing students. Later answering queries from presspersons, Mr. Sambandham said the SHRC investigation team had been sent to Abhinav's house at Anna Nagar West here to record statements from his and other students' parents. The Commission would later consider how it could come to the rescue of students. "We will take care of students' interests. We will not let them down", he said. In another petition, filed before the National Human Rights Commission C. Ramesh of Vellore submitted that the incident was one of a series of cases "which has demonstrated that various human rights conventions and court rulings have been ignored by educational and governmental authorities in Tamil Nadu". He sought a direction to the State Government that it remove rule 51 of the Tamil Nadu Educational Rules immediately so that no room was given for any form of corporal punishment.
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