Dismiss HM, transfer teachers who colluded

MADURAI: The headmaster charged with child abuse should be dismissed and the majority of teachers working at the Government High School in Podhumbu should be transferred, said a report sent to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) by Henry Tiphagne, State representative for the Right To Education (RTE).The report revealed a shocker that the headmaster abused over 100 students from 2009 to 2011.A comprehensive list of recommendations and suggestions had been sent to the NCPCR for further action by a fact-finding team, constituted by the RTE representative. The team, comprising People’s Watch law researcher Pamelin, chief educational officer (incharge) Sridevi and district elementary educational officer Gnana Gowri, had visited the school on August 8.The recommendations include dismissal of headmaster Arockiasamy and Amile Rose, his niece and a teacher  there, for their nexus. A major recommendation was to give transfer orders to all teachers in the school and replace them with trustworthy ones. The government should take responsibility to provide compensation to the girls who went through the trauma in a government school, the report said.Others included counselling the children and considering the emotional aspects involved while carrying out the investigation.Some of the girls were harassed by the headmaster in front of the boys. This had added to their mental agony, as the boys would mock them after these episodes, the report stated.Due to the acts of the headmaster, many girls were unable to continue their studies. Also, it was feared that the headmaster’s misbehaviour would provoke perverted thoughts in the minds of young boys.The report also came out with some general suggestions, including the constitution of a reporting group with the active involvement of parents, social activists and officials, putting up complaint boxes, specific training for teachers to handle issues of sexual violence faced by girl children, sensitising girl students on how to assess the way people behave — whether their intentions are good or bad — and informing them about the point of contacts for lodging complaints in such cases.Monitoring and prevention of child abuse and violence by education officials was also emphasised.