Teacher Suspended After Students Protest Harassment in Gurukul School

 Hyderabad: Rajanna Siricilla district collector Sandeep Kumar Jha has ordered the immediate suspension of physical education teacher (PET) Jyotsna, from the Tangallapalli Tribal Welfare Gurukul School, following serious allegations of harassment by students. The collector has also directed that an FIR be filed against her.

The issue surfaced after several students accused Jyotsna of harassing them, particularly during their monthly menstrual cycles. According to the students, Jyotsna intruded while they were bathing, questioned them for spending excessive time in the bathroom. She allegedly broke down the door and recorded videos on her mobile phone. Deeply distressed, the students took to the streets, demanding her suspension and swift justice.

The protests gained momentum as students voiced their frustration over the poor conditions in the school, citing overcrowding with more than 500 students sharing only two bathrooms. Several students bore visible bruises and claimed they were beaten by Jyotsna.

The protesters claimed that despite raising these concerns with the school principal and other officials, no action had been taken, leaving them with no choice but to escalate the matter through public demonstrations.

In one incident, students claimed, the teacher forced several girls to undress and then beat them with a stick for being late to prayer, citing menstruation-related delays as the reason for their tardiness. They accused Jyotsna of disregarding their explanations and punishing them cruelly, even within the confines of the bathroom.

After hours of protest, the agitation was eventually called off when local authorities promised a thorough investigation into the allegations and assured the students that appropriate disciplinary measures would be taken against the teacher.