The horrific incident of two teachers brutally assaulting a Std IV boy at a Vagali-Camurlim school on Monday has come as a rude shock and a damper ahead of Teacher’s Day on Thursday. The 9-year-old suffered cut marks, bruises and blood clots on his body as the teachers went berserk over the student's conduct of tearing pages of his book. The teachers have been booked under various sections of the BNS and Goa Children Act while Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who is also the Education Minister swiftly reacted to the incident assuring action against both the teachers.
Violent attacks against students have been common in Goan schools, in some cases leading to the arrest of the teacher involved, and suspension orders. In November last year, one teacher was arrested for assaulting one Class 3 student in a Sanquelim school while another faced the music for smacking a Class 8 student in a Bicholim school. In 2018, the principal of a Margao-based school was booked for thrashing one student outside his class, leading to bleeding. In 2017 a lady teacher was booked by cops for torturing one of her students in Calangute and during the same year a headmaster of a Canacona school was booked for assaulting two students.
There are many more such cases that have not only tormented students but left questions of scarring their mental well-being and affecting them psychologically as they grow into adulthood. Teachers are considered friends, philosophers and guides and are largely responsible for moulding their minds and shaping careers. Through these violent acts, students could just break up or their emotional self could be smeared making them aggressive and repulsive to society. There are serious consequences to such kind of exposure, and we are certain that every teacher or headmaster/headmistress is aware of these.
We certainly do understand the challenges teachers are facing, especially when the bench strength is diverse with students coming from various backgrounds. We also agree that in learning there can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach. Teachers are required to modulate and be dynamic to the requirements of the class. However, applying aggression to meet those challenges can’t be a solution at any point. With the frequency of cases, we find that a few of these teachers are either losing focus or are unconcerned about their core responsibilities towards the child.
Corporal punishment cannot be the pathway to teaching under any circumstances. The question that arises now, is why are teachers not conscious of the consequences. Is it because there are no stringent deterrents against those who use violence as a medium of teaching? If we examine the past few cases, there have been teachers who have been arrested and released on bail, and a few others have been suspended and reinstated later. And the cycle continues.
Schools rarely assess teachers on their performance, teaching skills or temperament. In current times, counselling sessions for teachers are a must to understand their mental framework and prescribe suitable course corrections. Teachers could face stress at various levels — from within the class to private lives, and there is the likelihood that students could end up being victims. The department has to look at these cases from a much wider perspective.
With the State poised to take a giant leap in education by switching over to the National Education Policy, schools and other educational institutions are likely to face a churn and a resultant unease. The scope of the teaching community is bound to change as reforms set in, and that is bound to bring in more stress in the process. We cannot afford to carry such baggage into the education system because it could turn counter-productive eventually.
The Education Department, embarrassed by the turn of events at the Camurlim school has initiated a swift probe. That's not bad. However, investigations and suspensions have become handy tools to douse the sentiments of aggrieved parents and students, and these actions haven’t acted as deterrents. In extreme cases, the department must take tough measures and dismiss teachers based on the severity of the cases. It has to walk its talk of not tolerating violence against students.
That being said, the State has thousands of teachers who are doing yeoman's service to their profession, even to the extent of sacrificing their personal lives. These are the beacons of hope on which parents bank to mould their children’s future. It is for these teachers that students are ready to move to the school their ‘guru’ is transferred. It is for these teachers that students rise to celebrate Teacher’s Day every year.
