Guardians protest outside Balika Uchcha Vidyalaya of Modidih. Picture by Gautam Dey

Dhanbad, April 27: While the state is keen on bringing dropouts back to school, the principal and a few teachers of an institution have been embroiled in controversy, allegedly for compelling girl students to shed their uniforms to frisk for stolen money of a classmate.

The shocking incident occurred at Balika Uchcha Vidyalaya of Modidih colliery area in Sijua coalfield around 10.30am on Friday.

The parents of 13 traumatised students of Class VIII today protested outside the school under Bharat Coking Coal Limited against the alleged dishonour of their wards. The parents demanded immediate ouster of principal Md Sarfuddin and an inquiry against him and three female teachers for the alleged order to the students to shed their uniforms to search for the stolen money. While a meeting of the school committee is slated soon, the students have decided to quit classes from Monday until Sarfuddin was removed.

One Nazia Parveen of Class VIII claimed to have lost Rs 55.

“Three of our lady teachers — Sunita, Sushma and Preeti — asked us to remove our skirts and blouses and show if we had stolen the money. We were threatened of expulsion if we refused. One of the teachers even warned that if I did not remove my uniform, she would do so before the principal,” said a student, who faced the ordeal.

“We were warned by our teachers that if we told our parents about the search episode, it would cost us dearly,” said another student, on whose statement an FIR has been lodged against the principal and the three teachers.

Accepting to have frisked the students, all three teachers denied asking them to shed uniforms. The principal told reporters that teachers had removed the shoes and socks of students but not asked them to shed their uniforms.

The guardians came to know about the incident only after the school closed for the day. On Saturday, some parents reached the school at 8am and demanded suspension of the principal, vice-principal Rajiv Kumar Singh, secretary Surendra Singh and the teachers. They allegedly beat up the principal and the vice-principal. Teachers fled the spot and FIRs were lodged by both sides at the nearby Jogta police station.

The district education officer said that his department had no power to interfere as the school was a private-run one. But he said that stern action should be taken against the principal.