An 11-year-old female student in a private Hyderabad school claims she was sent to the boys' washroom as punishment for not coming to school in proper uniform. The girl, in a video shot by her father, says the PT teacher caught her on her way to class and began scolding her.
She alleges that there were two-three teachers who decided to put her in the boys' washroom as punishment. The child’s uniform was still wet after a wash so she wore regular clothes. She tried telling the teachers her parents had written a note in her diary, asking her to be excused, but they didn’t listen, she alleges.
The girl says she was made to stand in the washroom for five minutes, and that all the other children were watching as she was scolded and sent to the bathroom.
The woman teacher, however, denied the allegations and told media persons on Monday that as the girl was not wearing uniform, she only asked her the reason.
She said the girl was standing near the boys' washroom and was never asked to stand inside it.
Her father is heard telling her in the video that he has brought up the matter with the school and that she would not be bothered again. But the girl is terrified of going back. "Now that you have brought it up they will beat me and harass me. I will never go back," she insists.
The child's father has complained to child rights activist Achyuta Rao who says the nature of punishment is also a violation under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act.
The child rights body is also likely to write to the Human Rights Commission, reported NDTV.
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