In another shocking incident from the Athur-Thalaivasal region of Salem district, a viral video has caused widespread outrage. The footage shows students being instructed to massage and squeeze the legs of their teacher, Jayaprakash, during afternoons to help him sleep.
Jayaprakash, a mathematics teacher at the local government high school, has been accused of summoning students to perform this task during periods when there were no classes. The video shows two students sitting on the floor beside him, massaging his legs, while he rests. In addition to this, other videos have surfaced showing Jayaprakash sleeping in the classroom without delivering lessons, further fueling the controversy on social media.
Furthermore, it is alleged that despite the matter being reported to the school headmaster, no action was taken. There are also claims that the math teacher, Jayaprakash, has been arriving at school intoxicated on certain occasions.
#JUSTIN ஆத்தூர்:மாணவர்களை கால் அழுத்த சொல்லி வகுப்பறையில் ஓய்வெடுக்கும் ஆசிரியர்
அரசு உயர் நிலைப்பள்ளியில் ஆசிரியர் ஜெயப்பிராகாஷ் வகுப்பறையிலே அடிக்கடி ஓய்வெடுப்பதாக புகார்#School #Attur #Teacher #Classroom #News18Tamilnadu | https://t.co/3v5L32pLWJ pic.twitter.com/8c8fLE6nH1
— News18 Tamil Nadu (@News18TamilNadu) November 22, 2024
This is not an isolated incident. Government schools and private schools in Tamil Nadu are plagued by a range of serious issues, including sexual harassment, forced imposition of religious beliefs, screening of controversial movies, caste-based violence, and students falling into drug abuse, among others.
Sexual Harassment
- On 3 September 2024, Dr. S. Samson Daniel (31), a government doctor, was arrested under the POCSO Act on sexually assaulting minor girls at a hostel affiliated with a government-aided school in Trichy. His mother, S. Grace Sagayarani (54), who is the headmistress of the school, was also taken into custody for helping to cover up the offenses.
- On August 2024, a 13-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) functionary named Sivaraman during a fake National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp at a private school near Bargur in Krishnagiri district.
Substance Abuse
A Chennai school in Kalyanapuram, Vyasarpadi, has become a hotspot for underage substance abuse, with students as young as pre-teens consuming beer and tobacco. A report on 23 August 2024, revealed a Class IX girl drinking beer in the classroom on her birthday, with her Class VII brother purchasing it, while three Class X boys were caught smoking Beedis. These incidents highlight a disturbing trend of substance abuse among students at the school.
Administrative Failures
- On 9 November 2024, a government-aided girls’ school in VK Puram, near Ambasamudram, screened Tamil films such as Vijay’s ‘GOAT’ to senior students and Rajinikanth’s ‘Vettaiyan’ to younger students, with charges of ₹25 and ₹10 per student, respectively.
- The government secondary school in Theethipalayam, Coimbatore, faced a severe classroom shortage, leading to a decline in student admissions and forcing existing students to attend classes under trees and in the parking area. Despite ongoing construction, about 100 students in classes 8 and 9 are left without proper facilities.
- On 27 August 2024, three students were injured when a section of the ceiling plaster fell on them during class at a government-run school in Krishnagiri. The accident raised significant concerns about the safety and structural integrity of the building, which had only been opened two months ago with MPLADS fund. In another similar incident July 2024, a ceiling of a newly constructed Panchayat Union Middle School near Kanchipuram collapsed, wher the building, completed three months prior.
- On August 2024, another ceiling of a classroom at a government school in Thiruporur collapsed, injuring five female students and sparking protests from parents who questioned the quality of the construction.
- On 12 June 2024, The administration of St. Paul’s Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Mayiladuthurai forced students to clean their classrooms to “instill” discipline, a practice exposed when a ninth-grade student refused and was slapped by a teacher.
- The Government Higher Secondary School in Mogappair, Chennai, become a site of student distress due to poor conditions, including unhygienic facilities and unsafe infrastructure. Girl students raised alarming concerns that they were subjected to verbal harassment and forced cleaning duties, with teachers complicit in the mistreatment.
- .In 2023, a disturbing video went viral showing mentally challenged students at a Tamil Nadu government-aided school, run by the Church of South India (CSI), being forced to clean toilets. The students, attending the CSI School for the Mentally Challenged in Sivakasi, were reportedly made to perform this task as part of their school routine. The incident, involving over 100 students, sparked outrage after the video was shared on social media.
Proselytization Attempts in School
- The headmistress of Government High School in Diwanshah Pudur allowed Friday Namaz to be held on school premises, disrupting the secular environment. The prayers have been conducted regularly such practices may cause religious discord and mental distress as the school serves a diverse student body
- In August 2023, protests erupted in Acchankuttam village, Tenkasi, over concerns that a government-aided Christian school was engaging in proselytization. The Tahsildar filed a complaint, leading to police action against 12 individuals accused of inciting communal unrest by mobilizing Hindu parents to withdraw their children from the school. The case stems from fears of religious conversion within the school.
- In 2022, Beatrice Thangam, a tailoring teacher at a government school in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, was accused of making objectionable remarks about Hindus and attempting to preach Christianity to her students. A Class 6 student revealed in a video that Thangam referred to Hindus as “sathaan” (devil), forced students to read the Bible, and even made them kneel and recite Christian prayers. The teacher allegedly pressured Hindu students to stitch Christian crosses and dismissed the Bhagavad Gita as “bad.”
- In 2022, a 17 year old girl studying at Sacred Heart Higher Secondary School in Thirukattupalli near Thanjavur, committed suicide by drinking poison after she was allegedly tortured to convert to Christianity by the school for her to continue her studies.
Caste Pride & Violence
- A 10th-grade student at a government-aided school in Sripuram, Tirunelveli, was dismissed for carrying weapons, including a sickle and knives, after a student clash. The weapons were discovered during a routine bag check on 18 September 2024. .
- On 30 July 2024, two students at the Government Higher Secondary School in Valliyoor, Tirunelveli, were injured in a caste-related clash triggered by derogatory remarks about a specific caste written on a toilet wall.
- In December 2023, students from Periyar Government Higher Secondary School in Cheranmahadevi attacked students from a nearby polytechnic college over caste issues, leaving one student stabbed.
- On August 2023, three students from a dominant caste assaulted a Scheduled Caste teenager and his sister in Nanguneri. The violence resulted in injuries and hospitalisations, shocking the community.
- On 1 July 2024, another instance of caste-based pride sparked a clash among 12th-grade students at Rosalind Chelliah Government Higher Secondary School in Maruthakulam village, Nanguneri, Tirunelveli.
Instead of addressing the pressing issues and giving a facelift to the abysmal standards of school education in the state, the Dravidian-model government has chosen to arrest motivational speakers who discuss the Thirukkural, focus on ways to influence students into joining the DMK through its youth wing, ban NEET, and engage in various political stunts.
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