Kerala govt orders closure of school where a student was ‘kept in kennel’

On Monday, the police had arrested the headmistress of Jawahar English Medium School, which has been functioning in a shed within the premises of a house, near the city.

The student’s class teacher, who allegedly put the boy in the kennel, is absconding. The dog was reportedly taken out of the kennel and the child locked inside.

The government action came in the wake of a probe.

Police said the principal was charged under IPC Sections 317 (exposure and abandoning of a child by a person having care of it), 342 (wrongful confinement) and Juvenile Justice (care and protection of child) Act.

The child’s father said his son was locked up in the kennel from morning to evening. His elder daughter, studying in an upper primary class at the same school, saw the boy locked in the kennel when she went to the toilet. She took up the matter with the principal, who allegedly threatened the girl with consequences if she informed her parents.

The family said the child was not given anything to eat and was released only in the afternoon. The incident came to light after his sister took the matter up with a relative who informed the parents, following which they filed a complaint. The boy said it was his teacher who locked him up. The education department revealed that the school did not have government recognition.

However, a school official has said that the case was fabricated and no such incident occurred. He alleged that certain vested groups were behind the complaint and the boy was tutored to raise charges against the school.

Outraged by the incident, people marched towards the school in protest as education and social welfare departments launched separate probes.

Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan demanded the class teacher and principal be booked under a non-bailable charge for the inhumane act.