Parents protest against principal's humiliation of 80 schoolgirls in Dhanbad
Members of the Jharkhand Abhivawak Mahasangh (JAM), an organisation of parents and guardians, held a token hunger strike on Tuesday, demanding action against the principal of a Dhanbad school. The principal allegedly ordered 80 class 10 girls to remove their shirts after they wrote messages on them during a "pen day" celebration last week. The parents' body claimed that the district administration had given a clean chit to the principal, whose directive led to the students being sent home in blazers, without their shirts, on January 10. Despite conducting an inquiry, the district authorities have not commented on the clean chit given to the female principal of the reputed private school. Eleven office-bearers of JAM staged the hunger strike from 10 am to 4 pm at Randhir Verma Chowk, demanding strict action against the principal. However, none of the hunger strikers were the parents or guardians of the affected girls. JAM Secretary Manoj Mishra said that the inquiry team, which included the sub-divisional officer (SDO) and sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), was formed by Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Madhvi Mishra following a complaint from the parents. "After the humiliation of the children, the DC directed the SDO to probe into the incident, but he gave a clean chit to the principal and recommended a compromise between the school management and parents," said Mishra. Efforts to reach the DC and SDO for comment were unsuccessful. Mishra expressed that the parents now hoped the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), who were part of the probe team, would take action. DLSA Secretary Rakesh Roshan stated that they would submit their report to the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority, while CWC Chairman Uttam Mukherjee confirmed that a report had been sent to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in New Delhi. In response to the incident, the school management asked the principal to refrain from administrative duties until the inquiry is completed. Parents of the students reported that the principal had objected to the "pen day" celebration, where students wrote messages on their shirts, and had ordered them to remove their shirts despite their apology. The affected students were sent home in blazers without their shirts.
Members of the Jharkhand Abhivawak Mahasangh (JAM), an organisation of parents and guardians, held a token hunger strike on Tuesday, demanding action against the principal of a Dhanbad school. The principal allegedly ordered 80 class 10 girls to remove their shirts after they wrote messages on them during a "pen day" celebration last week.
The parents' body claimed that the district administration had given a clean chit to the principal, whose directive led to the students being sent home in blazers, without their shirts, on January 10. Despite conducting an inquiry, the district authorities have not commented on the clean chit given to the female principal of the reputed private school.
Eleven office-bearers of JAM staged the hunger strike from 10 am to 4 pm at Randhir Verma Chowk, demanding strict action against the principal. However, none of the hunger strikers were the parents or guardians of the affected girls.
JAM Secretary Manoj Mishra said that the inquiry team, which included the sub-divisional officer (SDO) and sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), was formed by Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner (DC) Madhvi Mishra following a complaint from the parents. "After the humiliation of the children, the DC directed the SDO to probe into the incident, but he gave a clean chit to the principal and recommended a compromise between the school management and parents," said Mishra.
Efforts to reach the DC and SDO for comment were unsuccessful. Mishra expressed that the parents now hoped the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), who were part of the probe team, would take action.
DLSA Secretary Rakesh Roshan stated that they would submit their report to the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority, while CWC Chairman Uttam Mukherjee confirmed that a report had been sent to the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in New Delhi.
In response to the incident, the school management asked the principal to refrain from administrative duties until the inquiry is completed. Parents of the students reported that the principal had objected to the "pen day" celebration, where students wrote messages on their shirts, and had ordered them to remove their shirts despite their apology. The affected students were sent home in blazers without their shirts.
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