NCPCR for suspension of La Martiniere principal

“Rouvanjit reached home at about 12 in the afternoon of February 12. At 1.30 pm he called his father who was busy and the child could not speak to him,after which he committed suicide at 2.30 pm,” a team member said.

The team members said the copies of the report have been sent to various regulatory authorities including the Human Resource Development Ministry,the West Bengal School Education Department,West Bengal chief secretary and the La Martiniere School. They felt that it was morally binding on the school and other regulatory bodies to accept and implement the recommendations.

A three-member probe committee headed by Ashok Agarwal,an advocate of Delhi High Court,Ratnaboli Ray,a child right activist,and D K Sahu,registrar of NCPCR,submitted the report to NCPCR on June 22.

Among the key recommendations as accessed by The Indian Express are:

Principal Sunirmal Chakraborty and L G Gunion to be suspended for time being till the police investigations are on. The committee also feels that continuous presence of police in the school,if these people are at the helm of affairs during investigation,will tramautise children.

Warning given to the principal by the school’s Board of Governors is highly disproportionate in terms of the impact of his actions (caning),even if it was not intended.

Caning,slapping,sending students outside class and singling out students is a practice at the school. There is no scope for children at the school to articulate their problems and students participation in decision making is low.

School diary mentions that if a child fails to accept the school discipline or keep up with the academic standards of the school,authorities can ask the child to leave. The committee has asked the school to drop this section.

The committee has found some gaps in section 17 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act,2009 which says no child will be subject to any mental and physical torture and whoever contravenes the same will be liable to disciplinary action under service rules.