Caste discrimination in Kerala school: Dalit student left school hurt by teacher’s misbehavior, mother said- why should children clean the dirt?

The teacher scolded a second class student in front of the entire class and made him clean the vomit of his sick classmate. Police has started investigation in the case registered under Juvenile Justice Act and SC-ST Act.

Published on: 04 Dec 2024, 4:24 pm

Idukki  – Pranav Sijoy, a second class student who was a victim of caste-based discrimination at St. Benedict L.P. School in Slivamala of the district, has left the school. Hurt by the school administration’s failure to take the matter seriously and no concrete action despite several complaints, Pranav’s parents applied for TC for the child. Pranav is now being admitted to a government school.

“We have decided to admit Pranav to a government school in Rajakkad, which is 12 km from our house. He has not been going to school since the incident and is very scared. This step is necessary for him,” Pranav ‘s mother Priyanka Soman told The Mooknayak.

Let us tell you, on November 13, second class student Pranav Sijoy was shouted at by his class teacher Maria Joseph in front of the entire class and angrily asked to clean the vomit of his sick classmate, which left the child deeply shocked. Pranav belongs to the Dalit community and his mother believes that only Pranav was asked to clean the vomit of his classmate due to casteist thinking. When his friend offered to help in this work, the teacher refused and said that only Pranav would do this work.

Pranav’s mother Priyanka said that on Wednesday, they were given the TC, the school management waived off Pranav’s outstanding school bus fees. However, Priyanka said, “We were ready to pay the fees, but they insisted on waiving it. But this cannot compensate for the pain caused to my child.”

Expressing her concern about Pranav’s adjustment in the new school, Priyanka said, “Pranav is not happy going to a government school as it is completely new for him. He is keen to go to St. Xavier’s School as many of his friends study there, but we are doubtful whether he will be treated well there as it also comes under the same missionary. We are admitting him to a government school after a lot of thought as it is affordable for us.”

Priyanka accused the school administration of evading responsibility, claiming that attempts were made to twist the students’ statements to weaken the allegations of caste-based discrimination. “Pranav’s classmates were asked by the teachers/principal to say that all the children cleaned up the vomit, but this is not true. In fact, only my child was asked to do the job,” Priyanka said.

Priyanka also expressed disappointment with the investigation conducted by the education department and the police. What angered her was that other parents, who were impressed with the school management, said they had no objection to the students cleaning up the mess. “How insensitive can they be? How are they trying to protect the school when it is clearly wrong? Children should not be asked to clean up the mess—it is shameful and unacceptable,” says Priyanka.

Priyanka also said that the school authorities are resorting to all sorts of tactics to dilute the issue. False statements are being made like an old dispute regarding school fees and an intention to extort money by blowing up this issue, whereas Priyanka says that she did not have any dispute with the school before, she is only upset with this incident of caste discrimination that happened on 13 November.

Delay in FIR, mother and son kept sitting at the police station till early morning

The FIR was delayed, it was finally registered 8 days after the complaint was lodged under the Juvenile Justice Act and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, but during the process Priyanka and her son faced mental harassment at the police station where they were made to wait till the early hours of the morning. Now the investigation of the case has been given to Additional SP IPS Rajesh Kumar. Dalit rights activists have demanded decisive action from the authorities to ensure justice.

Meanwhile, Priyanka stands firm in her fight against the injustice done to her son. “My question is simple: why should children be forced to clean up messes? It is not just about my son, it is about the dignity and safety of all students,” says Priyanka.

To get the expert opinion on the matter, The Mooknayak spoke to child rights expert and former member of Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Dr. Shailendra Pandya, who considered it serious.

Dr Pandya said, “This is definitely a violation of child rights and comes under the Juvenile Justice Act. We always talk about social inclusion, and this is a case of targeting a child from that SC community in particular. Even if we keep the caste issue aside, children should never be asked to clean toilets or litter. Schools should appoint proper sanitation workers for such tasks.”

Dr Pandya further added that apart from police and legal action, the education department and the state government also have a responsibility to ensure that such incidents do not happen again. It is the responsibility of these bodies to take strict action against schools that promote such practices.”

Attempts by The Mooknayak to reach out to school principal Susamma Joseph, Idukki Collector V. Vigneswari and SP Vishnu Pratheep TK for their version of events were unsuccessful as none of them responded to messages.