In a shocking incident, a 42-year-old headmistress of Government High School, Murugamalla, has been suspended for alleged inappropriate behaviour with a student during a recent school excursion. The suspension order was issued on December 29, as reported by officials.
The controversy unfolded when a series of photos depicting a romantic photo shoot between the headmistress and a student during the school trip went viral in the past two days.
During the tour, the head teacher, Pushpalatha, displayed inappropriate behaviour with a minor boy. She clicked intimate pictures with him on a mobile phone. The clicked pictures are now viral on social media, showing the headmistress in romantic poses with the minor male student. The boy in the picture is wearing a yellow kurta pajama, whereas the teacher is wearing a saree, they both can be seen hugging and kissing each other in the pictures. In one of the pictures, the student is carrying the teacher into his arms.
Furthermore, a video emerged showing the headmistress hugging and displaying romantic behaviour with the student. The images and video quickly circulated on social media platforms, prompting attention and concern from the public.
Notably, after the matter was highlighted on social media the the parents came to know about the pictures and confronted teacher Pushpalatha at the school. They also filed a complaint with the Block Education Officer (BEO) and demanded that the headmistress’s behaviour be thoroughly investigated.
Responding to the viral content, Chintamani District Education Officer Umadevi visited the school on Thursday. She conducted an inquiry, questioning fellow teachers, students, and kitchen staff who had participated in the educational tour to Horanadu, Dharmasthala, Yana, and other places from December 22 to 25, where the alleged incident occurred.
Umadevi revealed, “The photos that went viral were taken by another student. Barring the two students involved and the headmistress, no other staffer or student was aware of the incident.”
Acting on the recommendations of the Block Education Officer (BEO), P. Bailanjanappa, District Deputy Director of the School Education Department, issued an order suspending the headmistress from service pending a departmental inquiry. The move aims to ensure a thorough investigation into the alleged misconduct, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings of the inquiry. The incident has raised concerns about the safety and well-being of students during school trips, prompting authorities to address the matter with urgency.
Interestingly, such incidents are not uncommon. Instances of inappropriate behaviour by educators have surfaced before. In 2022, a video went viral featuring a teacher dancing to a Bhojpuri song in the classroom, sparking criticism on social media. The video captured a teacher in a saree dancing to the tune of ‘Patli Kamariya Mori,’ while students enthusiastically waved and jumped in the background. This incident reignited discussions about the persistent challenges concerning professional conduct within the education sector.
Readers should know that Organiser reported a case from Kanpur recently where a minor Hindu boy was similarly lured into a fake love trap by the 35-year-old teacher. The student, a brahmin boy was manipulated so much so that he stopped attending pooja at home and started visiting Church.
In October, the father of a minor Hindu boy, accompanied by hundreds of Hindu activists, took to the streets in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Alleging that a 35-year-old teacher at Saint Aloysius School had engaged in a prolonged romantic relationship with his 15-year-old son on various social media platforms, the father claimed that the teacher went to extremes by accompanying the boy to church and even cutting his choti, a culturally significant practice for Brahmins. The teacher was accused of ensnaring the boy in a deceptive web of false affection and other troubling behaviours.
Following the revelation of this incident, the entire school applied pressure on the family to retract their protest, resorting to baseless allegations against both the minor and his father regarding their characters. Despite the police acknowledging the situation and initiating investigations, no official complaint was lodged.
Consequently, the minor was compelled to stay home after his identity was openly disclosed by the school in the media. He was also withdrawn from school, as his father refused to abandon the protest and the complaint against the implicated teacher.
On December 26, Organiser contacted the victim’s father, who revealed that despite a court order mandating the registration of an FIR, the police had yet to take any action in the case.
