Login Register
Follow Us

6-year-old ‘thrashed’ by teacher at city school

CHANDIGARH:Penning an agonising account of how his six-year-old daughter, a student of Class 1-E at St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, was allegedly “brutally beaten up” by her class teacher, Mohammad Sartaj Khan, an advocate for Estate Regulatory Authority, Punjab, complained to the Principal of the school, Louis Lopez.

Show comments

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 22

Penning an agonising account of how his six-year-old daughter, a student of Class 1-E at St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, was allegedly “brutally beaten up” by her class teacher, Mohammad Sartaj Khan, an advocate for Estate Regulatory Authority, Punjab, complained to the Principal of the school, Louis Lopez.

“My little daughter was brutally beaten up by her class teacher Amrita Chadha. She was slapped thrice on her face, and her nose was pulled so badly that it left scars on her face. As a result of this torture, she could have turned deaf. This has not happened for the first time, instances of slapping and beating up children in your school have been happening in the recent past too. The little child is in great trauma and does not want to return to the school,” read an excerpt from the letter, mentioning that the incident transpired on the school premises on Monday.

When this correspondent visited the girl at her residence in Sector 22, a blue mark on her nose spelled the gravity of the assault that the child had been subjected to. Her mother, Nazish Khan, suggested not much should be made of the matter as the school authorities had already apologised for the teacher’s behaviour and had also issued her a warning in writing. The girl, however, was keen to narrate the story, so Nazish allowed us to hear about it. “It was the fourth period and I, along with others students, was descending the staircase to get our class’ group picture clicked. A boy and his friend kept hitting me from behind and when I turned back, asking them to stop, they went and complained to Amrita ma’am. Without listening to my side of the story, she slapped me on the face thrice and pulled my nose while reprimanding me,” said the little girl, shedding light on the playground politics among schoolchildren.

Shocked, and in pain, when the girl started crying, she was sent to her class on the second floor. “I kept crying in my class and then the boy was sent for me. When I refused to come down for the photograph, my teacher came to call me. She was sweet to me; so, I went. I like my teacher. Please don’t say anything to her,” she pleaded, innocently.

Though Nazish couldn’t gauge her child’s plight when she returned home on Monday, she shared it was her tuition teacher who noticed the blue mark on her nose. “When I asked the girl, she told me all about it. This is her first year in this school. She’s very talkative and a lively, active child, who speaks her mind out fearlessly, and tells me everything. It was only on Tuesday that my husband intimated the school authorities about the incident because she was scared and closed up; she’s never been like that,” said Nazish.

On meeting Principal Louis Lopez, this correspondent was assured that strict action would be taken against the teacher. “I have already issued her a warning in writing and this is her second year at the school. I am not very keen on her continuing at the school, but the ward’s father insisted that we don’t dismiss her. This is unacceptable and we will see to it that such an incident doesn’t happen again here,” he said.

Amrita refuted all allegations against her and regretted the incident for the sake of her teaching career. “I just patted her on the back. It was the third period when this happened, I guess. Also, I pulled her nose lovingly. The girl is too bubbly and very talkative and I saw her hitting a boy and a girl, who complained to me. It was a bad day and I regret that I beat her on her back, sometimes we do get angry. I have just started my career and I have never hit a child in my life,” she claimed.

In his complaint, the girl’s father wrote: “This is a fit case for registering an FIR under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. However, before approaching the police for registering a criminal case, I wanted to apprise the Principal and the school management of this incident with a hope that immediate and exemplary action will be taken against the guilty class teacher by your institution itself.”

Content with the school’s action, he said, “I don’t want to take away anyone’s job and I am satisfied that the school has taken note of this happening and issued a warning to the teacher concerned. I was very upset and I even checked with the parents of my daughter’s classmates to know what had happened with her. Children don’t lie and this was not the first time that this teacher hit a student.”


What the school says

I have already issued the teacher a warning in writing and this is her second year at the school. I am not very keen on her continuing at the school, but the ward’s father insisted that we don’t dismiss her. This is unacceptable and we will see to it that such an incident doesn’t happen again here — Louis Lopez, Principal, St Stephen’s School, Sector 45

Show comments
Show comments

Top News

Most Read In 24 Hours