BY OSABUOHIEN VIVIAN ROSE
A private school principal in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, India, landed in trouble for allegedly ordering 80 girls of Class 10 to remove their shirts for writing messages on them. The action has prompted the district administration to initiate an inquiry.
After being forced to remove the shirts, the girls were allegedly forced to return home in their blazers without shirts under them.
According to the complaint filed by the parents with Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Madhvi Mishra, Class 10 students, after completing their examination, were celebrating ‘pen day’ by writing messages on each others’ shirts.
The principal objected to the celebration and asked the students to remove their shirts, even though they sought an apology. All students were sent back home in their blazers without the shirts, the complaint said.
The incident took place in a prestigious school in Digwadih under Jorapokhar police station area on Friday.
The Deputy Commissioner constitutes a probe panel
Talking to the media, Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Madhvi Mishra said that she has received a complaint from several parents. She has constituted a probe panel to look into the matter.
“Several guardians lodged complaints against the principal. We also talked to some of the victim girls. The administration has taken the matter seriously. A committee has been set up to investigate the matter,” Mishra told news agency PTI.
The committee constituted by the DC has four members. It comprises the sub-divisional magistrate, district education officer, district social welfare officer and the sub-divisional police officer. The DC declared that action will be taken on the basis of the report submitted by the committee.
Jharia BJP MLA Ragini Singh also accompanied the parents to the DC’s office on Saturday when they lodged the complaints against the principal.
Singh described the incident as “shameful and unfortunate”.
