Gangtok, June 14: A Canadian woman
volunteer working in a private school in Sikkim today lodged a complaint
with police of Gangtok alleging that the institution’s director and a
teacher often beat up the students.
Sara Antwis, 40,
said she has recorded video clips of the teacher, Samir Tamang, chasing
schoolchildren with a cane and of a student crying and showing his
bruises. Corporal punishment is banned in schools.
“I was shocked to
see the children are subjected to extreme physical punishment. They are
beaten up regularly by the head of the school and a teacher. In two
incidents, four students were beaten up,” said Antwis, who taught in
Denjong Padma Choling Academy, a CBSE secondary school.
She said she filed
the complaint with Gangtok police after the local Tikjuk police station
in Pelling took no action. Antwis has named school director Sonam
Yongda, and the teacher Samir in her complaint. Yongda said: “It is a
lie to malign my image.”
“I lodged a police
complaint on June 7. Three of the four children were taken for medical
tests. I have a copy of the report that indicates bruises and welts. The
(Tikjuk) police ignored my report,” Antwis said, adding that she has
also written to the state child welfare commission.
The Telegraph
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