Parents of students at the city school whose two teachers have been convicted of sexually assaulting a child said the institution owed them an apology.
After news of the assault had spread in November 2017, angry parents had protested in front of the school alleging security lapses and lack of CCTV surveillance on the campus and demanded the removal of the then principal.
“The school authorities had tried a divide-and-rule policy to weaken the protests by the parents. Instead of trying to address the problem, they had closed the school for three days. Now that the charges have been proved in a court of law, the school should issue an apology because it is their teachers who have been found guilty,” said a parent who took part in the protests.
The parents of several other students at the school echoed him.
The then principal was relieved of her responsibilities following six days of protests.
“The fear is not just because such an incident took place, but because of the school’s approach and attitude in dealing with an incident like this. If instead of trying to investigate and listen to parents, a school tries to quash parents’ voices, that is a cause of worry for us,” said the father of a child whose daughter was in pre-primary at that time.
On Thursday, The Telegraph called up the current principal to ask for the school’s reaction to the conviction of the two physical education teachers — Abhishek Roy and Mohammad Mafisuddin — and the parents’ demand for an apology. The calls were not answered.
Text messages did not elicit a response either, while a WhatsApp message sent to the principal was not delivered.
Emails sent to the ID mentioned on the school’s website did not elicit any response till late on Thursday.
Calls to the then principal after the sexual assault took place were also not answered. A WhatsApp message was not delivered and text messages were not responded to.
The conviction of the two teachers has led to more formal conversations across campuses. Some city schools at various points in time were accused of burying complaints or downplaying such incidents.
“Every complaint that a parent lodges with the school, especially with respect to sexual assault or molestation, should be looked into by the school. No attempt should be made to stifle a parent’s voice,” said a woman whose child is not a student at the school in the centre of the storm.
The importance of being keen to listen to and address complaints resonated across campuses.
“We have to listen to the child. A school cannot be seen as protecting a teacher,” said Terence Ireland, principal of St James’ School.
Several teachers also feel that schools have to be “approachable” and should not turn a blind eye to parents’ concerns even in the smallest of things because schools are “service providers”.
“Even for small things, parents should be able to approach the school. Not necessarily the school has to make amends for everything that a parent is saying, but if a school is found wanting in any area, the authorities have to listen to constructive feedback from parents,” said the principal of a new-age school in the city.
