'9-yr-old bullied before suicide'
Jaipur, Nov. 20 -- The nine-year-old girl, who died after jumping from the fourth floor of her school in Jaipur on October 1, faced a 40-minute stressful situation in her last class, as she repeatedly complained to the teacher about five to seven classmates to no avail, a probe panel of the education department has found. CCTV footage showed the class 4 student jumping from the school building, sparking outrage.
District education officer Ramniwas Sharma, who led the five-member probe panel, said the footage from the classroom showed five to seven classmates constantly irritating and bullying the girl. "In 40 minutes, she took up the matter at least thrice with the teacher," said Sharma. He added that her complaints were initially ignored.
Sharma said the visuals showed she was very stressed. "She constantly complained about her classmates, but the teacher was asking her to return to her seat," said Sharma.
The students bullying her were also seen making counter-complaints. "Thereafter, the teacher was seen standing up and instructing the class to be quiet, asking everyone to return to their seats," Sharma said.
Sharma said the girl left the class for the washroom, but instead went upstairs, climbed on the railing of the fourth-floor balcony, and jumped off.
The panel flagged major violations of the building by-laws. "The school was supposed to have a manager on every floor to watch the movement of the students, which was missing. The height of the building also surpassed the recommended height. They also should have covered the balconies with nets to prevent any such accidents," said the report, which was filed in education minister Madan Dilawar's office on Tuesday.
An official said Dilawar will study the report and take necessary action on Thursday. The official cited the absence of audio and said the panel could not probe much into the bullying the girl was subjected to. "Police are investigating the matter, and will also summon the English teacher in whose class the incident happened."
The girl's parents claimed there were some sexual connotations to the bullying and that she was unwilling to go to school on the day of her death.
The parents, who have filed a case against the school, said they had planned to change their daughter's school....
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.