Half-shaved head of student at Jambhulghat ashram school sparks parents' anger; superintendent served notice
A student's hair was allegedly cut halfway at a residential ashram school in Chimur taluka as discipline; the headmaster said a show-cause notice has been issued.
A shocking incident has come to light at the government secondary ashram school in Jambhulghat, Chimur taluka. A student's hair was allegedly cut halfway in the name of discipline. The work was done by a barber who had come to cut the children's hair, and the incident has raised questions about how the school is run. Parents are deeply angry.
The residential ashram school comes under the Chimur tribal project. About 550 boys and girls study there. As the children live on the premises, the school administration is responsible for their daily needs and discipline. The tribal department has appointed a barber at the government level to cut the children's hair, and Saturdays and Sundays are fixed for this.
On Saturday, at around 4 pm, haircuts were under way on the school premises. It is said that while some children were getting their hair cut, a few others were playing nearby. This angered the superintendent. He is alleged to have asked the barber, in anger, to shave off half of a student's hair. Hair of a total of 82 students was cut with a trimmer, leaving them in an awkward state. Questions are being raised about how this affected the child's mind, whether he suffered mental distress, and whether his consent was taken.
There is also talk in the area that the superintendent had been drinking at the time of the incident. However, this claim has not been officially confirmed. There is therefore a demand that the department concerned also conduct an impartial inquiry into it.
Headmaster Prashant Giri said, "I had gone to Chimur for an hour on important work. After I returned, the children told me about this. A show-cause notice has been issued to the superintendent."
Parents say a show-cause notice alone does not settle the matter. They want a thorough inquiry into why the decision to cut half the hair was taken, who has the right to give children such a punishment, and what actually happened at the time. Parents are also asking why, if a child had broken discipline, counselling or action within the school's disciplinary framework, as per the rules, was not enough. Whether the punishment was handed out by directly having the hair cut is also described as a matter for investigation.
Parents want immediate action against the headmaster as well as the superintendent. They say the administration is responsible not only for the safety of children living in residential ashram schools but also for their mental and emotional well-being. If the child has had to face humiliation, responsibility must be fixed, they say.
Parents demand that senior officials conduct an impartial inquiry, hear the student out, bring out the real truth of the incident and act as per rules against those found guilty. The government provides many facilities in residential ashram schools for the education of tribal children, but treating children with respect is just as important. Students, parents and local residents are now watching what cognisance the Chimur tribal project and the tribal department take of the matter and what action they take against whom.
