A teacher and his wife have been accused of assaulting students at the Sorekayipura Government Senior Primary School under Hirisave hobli in Channarayapatna taluk, Hassan district, on Monday, leading to strong protests from parents and villagers.
Allegations of misconduct and alcohol use
Villagers alleged that the teacher, Harish, had been reporting to duty inebriated ever since he joined the school two years ago. They also claimed that his wife, Poornima, frequently accompanied him to the school and interfered with classroom activities, causing disturbances for both students and staff.
The situation escalated on Monday when headmistress Savitha was away for departmental training. Poornima reportedly entered a classroom and assaulted two girl students, Tanushree and Darshita. Harish is also alleged to have assaulted another student, Harshith.
Outrage among parents and villagers
Upon hearing of the incident, parents and villagers rushed to the school premises, confronted the couple, and lodged complaints with Education Department officials. The community expressed anger that such behaviour had been tolerated despite repeated concerns about the teacher’s conduct.
Many villagers stated that their collective efforts to develop and protect government schools were being undermined by the misconduct of a single staff member. School Development Monitoring Committee (SDMC) president Srinivas, along with members Chetan and Venkatesh, condemned the incident and demanded strict action.
Officials gather statements and initiate disciplinary process
Block Education Officer (BEO) H. N. Deepa, BRC Anil, Education Coordinator Srinivas, and CRP Puttaswamy visited the school immediately after receiving complaints. The officials collected written statements from parents and villagers and held separate interactions with affected students to understand the sequence of events.
A student informed the officials that Poornima frequently came to the school, questioned students about their lessons, and created disturbances during class hours.
Speaking to reporters, BEO Deepa confirmed that preliminary findings supported the allegations: “The teacher will be suspended, and disciplinary proceedings will be initiated,” she stated.
Community seeks restoration of trust
The incident has intensified concerns about student safety and staff accountability in rural government schools. Villagers reiterated that safeguarding children must remain the top priority and urged the Education Department to ensure strict monitoring to prevent such incidents from recurring.