Bhopal: Hundreds of students at a government school for girls in Bhopal protested against “harsh punishments” meted out to them for being late to the class, The Indian Express reported.
Footage showed students from the Sarojini Naidu Girls Higher Secondary School allegedly vandalizing the classrooms on Wednesday.
They held a sit-in protest for being made to mow the lawn and clean the premises as punishment for “minor infractions”. They accused one employee of ‘mistreating them’
Several angry students were seen breaking school windows, mauling ceiling fans.
Denying any wrongdoing, school principal Malini Verma reportedly said that some ‘children’ were stopped for being late to school and ‘their parents created an uproar over this’.
Malini Verma claimed that teachers were trying to stop the students and did not give any punishment.
Officials from Habibganj police station tried to pacify the students.
One student alleged that students were given ‘army like’ punishments by making them stand in the sun for ‘minor infractions’.
The student added that authorities did not care if students fainted, while another student said students sometimes reported late to school as they ‘live far away’.
The student said that as they walked, or cycled or took an auto to school, it took time, adding ‘We came here to study and we were made to clean garbage.’