Girl students of a government higher secondary school in Bhopal created a ruckus on Wednesday in protest against the harsh punishment given by the woman administrator.
Viral videos showed hundreds of students protesting, damaging classroom furniture, uprooting ceiling fan blades, breaking electronic gadgets and shattering window and door panes.
This incident took place in Sarojini Naidu Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Bhopal.
According to the students, if they were late by 10-15 minutes, they were given harsh punishments like removing grass from the ground, forcing them to clean toilets and making them stand in the sun.
“Just because we arrived 10-15 minutes late, the school administration forced us to remove grass from the ground and made us stand in the sun,” a student said in the viral video.
He said that some students had fainted due to the harsh punishment.
The students also raised the issue of poor condition of toilets and inadequate water supply in the government school in Madhya Pradesh.
Following the uproar, the woman administrator – former armed forces Captain Varsha Jha – was removed from her post by the authorities.
Jha was appointed just a month ago. It is reported that he has apologised to the students.
According to local media reports, the students are also worried about the school timings. They say that the school ends at 6 pm, which creates problems for the girls living far away.
The Director of Education Department of Madhya Pradesh Government also visited the school to take stock of the situation.
Investigations have been ordered into other allegations, including abuse and the poor condition of school facilities.
On the allegations of forcing students to clean toilets, District Education Officer (DEO) NK Ahirwar said that action will be taken after investigation.
He said that the girl students were angry with the punishment given by the administration for coming late by 10-15 minutes and they protested.
He said, “After hearing from the students, it seems that Varsha Jha’s behaviour was not good towards them. It seems that she used to deal very strictly with the students.”
