LUCKNOW In the wake of a major sexual assault case surfacing from a government school in Shahjahanpur’s Dadraul block, students have started keeping a distance from attending classes there. The recent incident has sent shockwaves across the region and as a consequence, attendance in the school has dropped below 35%, especially as girl students fear for their safety.
Given the number of used condoms that were found all over the school toilet, it has been ascertained that minor girls were being sexually assaulted by Mohammad Ali, the accused computer instructor, for quite some time. According to police, Ali had forcible sexual encounters with 13 of the minor girl students, including Dalits, from the school.
After the matter came to light on May 13, angry villagers created a ruckus. The protesting parents said that the sexual assault would have gone on had their girls not opened up. Taking cognisance of the horrific crime, police action was initiated on the complaint of the gram pradhan. The accused computer instructor Mohammad Ali, headmaster Anil Kumar, and assistant teacher Sajia have been booked in this connection.
Speaking on the incident, basic shiksha adhikari (BSA) Kumar Gaurav said, “Of the 112 students, including 50 girls, only 35% of the students turned up on Monday. This is obviously because both parents and students, particularly girls, are scared to come to the school after what happened with those 13 girls.”
He added, “The department will ensure counselling of students and parents because unless we are able to rebuild confidence among them the student turnout will not improve. We will have to sensitise our teachers too. Simultaneously, we are trying to address the issue and strong action will be taken against the guilty.”
In a similar vein, gram pradhan Rampal said, “The incident has dented the confidence of parents. We all consider educational institutions to be a safe place for students but unfortunately, a few teachers have brought shame to the school and hence, parents are reluctant to send their wards.”
Another villager said, “Some of the girls who went through this horrible incident are reluctant to come to the school anytime soon. The misconduct of the teacher has left them scarred. It will take some time for them to overcome. The incident has dented their confidence and they will always feel that even the school is not a safe place for them.”
Meanwhile, director-general, school education, Uttar Pradesh, Vijay Kiran Anand, said, “To check such incidents, all 746 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) in Uttar Pradesh will soon have an all-women staff. Contracts of all existing male staff working in these schools functioning in all 75 districts of the state will not be renewed. He said this step had been taken for the safety of girl students studying in these residential schools offering residential education from classes 6 to 8.”