Children made to climb stairs on knees

Hyderabad: Students at Telangana State Girls Residential School, Mahendra Hills, are made to climb the stairs on their knees as punishment if they come late. The school also collects a fee from the parents if the students turn up late at school.

No parent has filed a complaint with the police yet, but some of them have gone to the Balala Hakkula Sangham, a child rights organisation, to protest the action of some teachers.

A parent, A. Anitha (name changed), whose daughter studies in Class 7 at the school, said, “This was not the case earlier but this year it has become the practice with the arrival of many new teachers.”

She said that for petty reasons teachers were making children stand outside the class or making them climb the stairs on their knees. “This is not acceptable," she said.

Most students were afraid of repercussions if they complained, and did not want to be named. A student said that punishment was common. Students were punished if they turned up late even for a day.

When contacted Mr R.S. Praveen Kumar, secretary, Telangana Residential Educational Society, said that the incident had come to his notice and he would initiate an inquiry into the matter.

He said that corporal punishment was banned by order in all residential school campuses. “We rarely come across such cases. But we do take strict disciplinary action in case of any such incident and we do not encourage them."

Mr  Achyuta Rao from Balala Hakkula Sangham, which was approached by many students, told this newspaper: “There needs to be more supervision of the schools in order to curb corporal punishment. Despite the ban on corporal punishment and disciplinary action, many teachers are still continuing to take the same path. Punishments cannot be the way to mend children’s behaviour.”