Azamgarh girl student’s death | All private schools across state to remain shut today: Association
Move to protest action against school staff ‘without proper inquiry’
3 min read
There are around 25,000 private schools affiliated with CBSE, ICSE and UP Board across the state. (File photo/representational)As a mark of protest against the arrest of a principal and a teacher at a private school on charges of abetment to suicide after a 17-year-old girl student allegedly jumped off the third floor of the school building in Azamgarh on July 31, the Uttar Pradesh Unaided Private Schools Association has called for closure of all private school across the state on Tuesday.
“We were forced to take this step because action is being taken against school staff without proper inquiry in several cases. The latest such example is of Azamgarh, where a school principal and teacher were arrested. On Tuesday, all private schools across Uttar Pradesh will remain closed,” said the association’s president, Anil Agarwal.
There are around 25,000 private schools affiliated with CBSE, ICSE and UP Board across the state.
Agarwal said, “In the Azamgarh case, the police immediately seem to have held the principal, a teacher and the school management responsible for the girl’s death. Police registered an FIR and arrested the principal and teacher. Both have been lodged in jail since then,” said Agarwal.
He added, because of “several” such incidents in the recent past, teachers are often refusing to accept the post of principal. “We request the government to prepare guidelines for us. We also demand that a committee be formed to probe allegations, if any, against school staff or authorities. If anyone is found responsible after thorough inquiry, strict action should be taken,” said Agarwal.
On July 31, an FIR was registered against the principal and a teacher of a private school after a 17-year-old girl allegedly jumped off the third floor of the school building in Azamgarh. The girl’s family has alleged that she took the extreme step over “frequent harassment” by the principal and teacher.
Two days after the FIR was registered, the police arrested the school principal and a teacher on charges of culpable homicide.
The girl’s father filed a police complaint alleging that the two had been “ill-treating” his daughter and humiliated her through their remarks in the presence of others.
The father told mediapersons that his daughter had told him that a teacher and the principal used to “harass” her frequently. “They (accused) used to harass my daughter over various things… Especially after she raised an objection on school dress and fees. Strict action should be taken against the two accused,” said the father.
In a video shared online, the principal is purportedly heard saying, “We don’t know the reason behind the death. The school staff are also not aware of how the girl reached the third floor.” She also purportedly claimed in the video that school staff took the girl to a hospital after the incident.
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