The management of an English medium school in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh was in the dock for making students strip and stand in the hot sun on Wednesday as a punishment.
The incident occurred in the Chaitanya Bharati School at Nanasahebpet of Punganur block. The incident came to light after a video shot by a passerby on his mobile phone went viral.
According to police, six students aged 10, who were late to school and had not done their homework, were asked to strip and stand outside the classroom in full public view. While some of them were totally naked trying to cover their private parts, others were seen in their undergarments and one with pants on.
“There were other students watching us from nearby classrooms and there were also people on the road next to the school,” one of the students told the Mandal Education Officer Leela Rani, who conducted an inquiry on Thursday.
The MEO denied any delay in taking action. “We came to know about it on Wednesday evening and we have immediately initiated action,” she told reporters.
Shamed by the punishment, the students complained to their parents, who in turn filed a complaint with the local police.
The District Education Officer and the Regional Joint Director, who visited the school and spoke to the victims, immediately suspended the recognition of the school. The police also arrested school correspondent Nagaraju Naidu.
Also parents associations and students in Punganur town organised protest marches. They deplored the high- handedness of the private school.
