Bullying by students casts shadow over teachers

Geography teacher Geetha Aravind travelled the world teaching schoolchildren in a career that spanned decades. But it was with students in Tamil Nadu that she hit a wall. “In the 1970s, children were calmer. After the millennium, I found that many adolescents here were getting aggressive with teachers,“ she says. “The management could do nothing so I gave up teaching.“ Aravind's experience isn't an isolated one.In the last few years, there have been a number of instances of students attacking teachers. A couple of days ago, a Class 12 student in Chennai slapped his computer science teacher, almost rupturing her ear drum.In 2012, an angry student stabbed his teacher to death.School managements say even when students get violent, their hands are tied.
Ra Pichai, director of matriculation schools in Tamil Nadu, says that as per the Right To Education Act in India, children cannot be suspended or expelled from school up to Class 8. “Even after that, the action for misbehaviour is not stringent. All we can do is counsel students,“ he says.
Andal Damodaran, pres ident of Indian Council for Child Welfare, Tamil Nadu, says counselling is unlikely to work in cases involving violence. “When schools talk of counselling, it ends up being a one-off session. Mild action like that will not help when aggression is out of control as with the case of the boy slapping the teacher,“ she says. “It saddens me to say so, but the boy needs to be suspended and severe action needs to be taken like sending him to a juvenile observation home for a few days. Students need to know that behaviour like this will not be tolerated. Most students know they cannot be suspended and mock teachers,“ says Damodaran.
Schools tell teachers to play it safe. A representative of Pioneer Matriculation Higher Secondary School says, “We know we cannot do anything, the teacher knows it too. Our advice to teachers is to extricate themselves from a situation that is getting out of hand.“
Psychiatrist Dr Anbudurai says teachers need more training in communicating and negotiating with children. “It is also important for them to know when to throw up their hands and ask for help from the school management and professionals such as behavioural therapists or parent support groups.“