Girls dread going to UP school where teacher sexually assaulted 18 students

Shahjahanpur (UP): Most of the girls in an Uttar Pradesh government school where a teacher was arrested for sexually assaulting at least 18 students, have stopped coming to classes after the incident. The attendance in the school in Shahjahanpur's Dadraul block, has dropped below 35 per cent, according to reports.

The government school teacher was arrested for allegedly molesting at least 18 girls. The principal of the school and an assistant teacher has also been booked for supporting the accused, a computer teacher, police said on Sunday. All three accused were booked under sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the IPC and the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.

The three accused have been identified as Mohammad Ali the computer teacher, Sajia assistant teacher and Anil Pathak the school principal. A number of used condoms were found in the school toilet. After the matter came to light on May 13, angry villagers created a ruckus.

The protesting parents said that the sexual assault would have gone on had their girls not opened up. Speaking on the incident, Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Kumar Gaurav said: "Of the 112 students, including 50 girls, only 35 per cent of the students turned up on Monday. This is obviously because both parents and students, particularly girls, are scared to come to the school after what happened with those 13 girls.

"The department will ensure counselling of students and parents because unless we are able to rebuild confidence among them, the student turnout will not improve. We will have to sensitise our teachers too. Simultaneously, we are trying to address the issue and strong action will be taken against the guilty."

In a similar vein, gram pradhan Rampal said: "The incident has dented the confidence of parents. We all consider educational institutions to be a safe place for students but unfortunately, a few teachers have brought shame to the school and hence, parents are reluctant to send their wards."

A parent said: "Some of the girls who went through this horrible incident are reluctant to come to the school anytime soon. The misconduct of the teacher has left them scarred. It will take some time for them to overcome."

Meanwhile, Director-General, school education, Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Kiran Anand, said: "To check such incidents, all 746 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in Uttar Pradesh will soon have an all-women staff. Contracts of all existing male staff working in these schools functioning in all 75 districts of the state will not be renewed. He said this step had been taken for the safety of girl students studying in these residential schools offering residential education from classes 6 to 8."

State minister Baldev Singh Aulakh has also assured strict action against the accused in the case. "Action will be taken against all those involved as per the law. If teachers are involved in such cases, they will be thrown out of the school." (Agency inputs)