Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi
| Photo Credit: S. Siva Saravanan
The School Education Department has received 238 complaints of sexual abuse so far, and around 50 are still under scrutiny, said Minister for School Education Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Thursday.
Speaking to mediapersons after inaugurating a meeting of education officers, he said the department had acted on all cases it had received so far. Of the complaints received, 11 teachers have been acquitted and have rejoined duty. As many as 7 persons had died in judicial custody, and 56 will receive final orders by March 10, he said. He added that the government would cancel the educational credentials of teachers accused of sexual assault. Last week, the police arrested three government teachers for sexually assaulting a girl student on the premises of a school.
Hope India, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), urged the State government to ensure swift implementation of its existing Government Order (G.O.) issued on May 17, 2012, which states that such acts would invite disciplinary action along with compulsory retirement, removal, and dismissal of the teacher.
P. Joseph Victor Raj of Hope India, in his letter to the department, pointed out that there was a need for clear procedures for reporting, investigating, and prosecuting cases of child sexual abuse within schools. He called for publicising the provisions of the G.O. widely among schools, teachers, and parents, besides providing regular training and sensitisation programmes to teachers and school staff on child protection, recognising signs of abuse, and reporting protocols. The department should establish confidential channels for students to report abuse without fear of retaliation and collaborate with civil society organisations working in the field of child protection to strengthen prevention and response mechanisms.
Meanwhile, another organisation, Voice of the Voiceless, has cited an 2024 incident in the Chitlapakkam Government School in Tambaram, following which a visually-impaired social science teacher and the principal were transferred. Jeeva M.K., president of the Parent Teachers Association, who complained to the police about the teacher was later removed from the Association.
“I was the guardian for a student at the school. But after the complaint, I was removed from the post,” he said. “We collected feedback from Class 10 students prior to public exams. We wanted to know what kind of support the students wanted. It was then the students revealed the details,” he said.
Girl students of single parents and minority communities had been routinely sexually abused by the teacher. Mr. Jeeva got a few students to write out their grievances, which was attached to the complaint. The first case against the teacher was registered with the All-Women Police Station in 2010, he subsequently learned from the police. Since none of the girls came forward to lodge a complaint, the police did not register a case against the offender, Mr. Jeeva was told.
Mr. Jeeva said the Chengalpattu Chief Education Officer and the District Education Officers conducted an inquiry and the principal and the teacher were subsequently transferred.
Published – February 13, 2025 11:31 pm IST
