Row over students expelled for ‘long hug’

A leading private school in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram has expelled two of its students — a girl and a boy — over their “prolonged hugging” in public, triggering a raging debate on discipline and morality in the southern state.

The girl, a Class 11 student, was embraced by the senior boy in front of the audience after she won the first prize in the western music contest on July 21.

Principal Sebastian T Joseph summoned the parents of both the students soon after the incident. They tendered a written apology but the school’s management suspended them in August. They were expelled in November and the boy’s parents approached the state children’s commission which directed the school to take them back. However, the school later challenged the commission’s order in the high court. The HC upheld the school’s decision, saying it was the principal’s responsibility to maintain decorum and morality inside the campus and dismissed the children commission’s directive.

Both the students claim it was a mutual congratulatory hug that lasted only a few seconds but the school said it was a prolonged hug and they violated the discipline.

“It was a friendly mutual hug. My friend was happy with the way I sang. Both of us never expected things will come to such a pass. Our future is bleak since many schools that came to know about this are denying chances to continue education,” the girl told HT. She said school authorities later forced her to give an undertaking that it was not a mutual hug but a forced one to avoid initiating action against her. She said she refused and was expelled from the school in November.

The girl alleged that the school authorities also hacked into her Instagram account and procured some other photos to portray both of them in a bad light. Parents of both the students said they were humiliated by the school.

The Class 12 student said he will appeal against the HC order so that he can appear for his board exam next year. The boy’s father said the hug was “blown out of proportion” by the authorities and it “demoralised” his son. However, the school said it did it in the best interest of the institution. The alumni of the school have started an online petition demanding the management to revoke their expulsion.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: