Thiruvananthapuram: A congratulatory hug by two higher secondary students has snowballed into a controversy that involved the school management, the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and even the High Court of Kerala.
The St Thomas' Central School at Mukkolaykkal in Thiruvananthapuram expelled a boy for hugging his female friend after a stage performance in the school arts festival on July 21. The teachers objected to the gesture and pulled up the two students. They even dug up photos posted by the boy on Instagram to build a case against him.
Even the girl has quit the school after the teachers made it such an issue.
The boy's parents approached the child rights commission to let him continue his studies. The commission accepted the parents’ arguments and ordered the school to take him back but the management challenged the order before the high court.
The court ruled that the principal had the authority to enforce discipline and morality among students but observed that he could take a lenient view considering the hug as an aberration. The court also said that the management could consider that the student was about to appear for the board examination.
The parents now plan to appeal the ruling before a division bench.
The school decided to take the students to task after they hugged in the presence of a teacher. She complained in writing to the management and the teachers council recommended disciplining the boy. The decision was kept in abeyance until the term tests were over.
Meanwhile, the boy’s parents approached the child rights commission for relief.
The school management insists that the hug was not a spontaneous gesture of affection as it happened quite some time after the girl was pronounced the winner of an event. Though the boy has been expelled, he may be allowed to write the board examinations if the parents requested, said Dr Rajan Varghese, secretary of the Mar Thoma Church Educational Society which owns the school.
The court said that the principal was the final authority in affairs of school and the child rights commission had no jurisdiction in matters related to school discipline. The judge observed that the girl’s parents had no complaints against the boy and the boy could be reinstated after making him pay a fine, if the school management wishes so.
The court said the circulation of photos on social media was a bloat on the image of the school and such events disturbed students, parents and the civil society.
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