Teachers on a beating spree

Most students in government schools are first generation learners

The rising number of cases of teachers caning and even grievously injuring school children especially between the ages of ten and fifteen has been alarming. About fifteen cases were reported in the past two months in Telangana alone.

Educationists say these cases can be treated as bullying as teachers are picking on students who are still young.

They claim that teachers teaching in upper primary and high school feel more burdened by their work and therefore tend to take out their frustration on students.

Professor K. Laxminarayana, an educational expert, said, “Most students in government schools are first generation learners. They cannot ask their parents any queries related to their subjects. And the main thing to be noted is that school children do not have a choice in the subjects they study so they cannot be expected to excel in all subjects.”

He says the parents cannot often afford private coaching so when the children are shunned by teachers, or physically abused, they have no one who can explain things they have not understood.

According to him, the problem is that children do not get pre-primary education. Children need a trained teacher at the pre-primary level, else they cannot develop. “Children are pushed into schools with no background in learning, with no facilities, and are expected to perform according to the teacher’s wishes, which is what creates a troubled studentteacher relationship. However, violence can never be the answer,” says Prof Laxminayana.

Parents cannot often afford private coaching so when the children are shunned by teachers, or physically abused, they have no one who can explain things they have not understood — PROFESSOR K. LAXMINARAYANA, educational expert