TN teachers’ associations demand probe into POCSO cases against educators

The Teachers Joint Action Committee comprising members from various teachersrsquo associations has demanded a thorough investigation into recent cases filed under the POCSO Act against teachers on exam dutyThe demand follows multiple incidents including the arrest of a 44yearold teacher who was on invigilation duty for the Class 12 public examination in KrishnagiriThe teacher was reportedly taken into custody after a student accused him of misconductHowever the associations claim that some teachers are being unfairly accused of harassment simply for reprimanding students caught engaging in malpractice during the examinationsIn response the committee has urged the School Education Department to install CCTV cameras in all examination halls for Classes 10 11 and 12According to the associations the installation of cameras would ensure transparency safeguard both students and teachers and help determine the facts in such incidentsR Srinivasan State Legal Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Headmastersrsquo Association reiterated the importance of CCTV surveillanceHe said that it would be unfair if teachers are framed for misconduct while merely performing their duty and added that a proper probe has to be conducted to ascertain whether the teachers were being framed or notThe Directly Recruited Post Graduate Teachersrsquo Association DRPGTA also weighed in criticising the arrest in Krishnagiri as unjust and lacking proper evidenceIt may be recalled that in another incident reported in Tirupur a private school teacher Sampath Kumar was arrested under the POCSO Act on March 25He was serving as an invigilator at the government higher secondary school in Vengamedu where students from both government and private institutions were taking their Class 12 final examReports allege that Kumar repeatedly inspected six female students under the pretext of checking for hidden cheating materials leading to accusations of inappropriate behaviourIn a separate case from March 18 Ramesh a 44yearold teacher from the Government Higher Secondary School in Vepanahalli was arrested under the POCSO Act He was on invigilation duty in the Bargur block when a girl student accused him of inappropriate touching during the examinationA second student from the same exam hall also made a similar allegationThe matter was reported to the Bargur All Women Police Station following which Ramesh was questioned and arrested on March 19The teachersrsquo associations continue to call for objective enquiries and stronger preventive measures emphasising the need to protect the rights and dignity of both students and teachersThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever