Rozalini at Gadabishapur village in Erasama block of Jagatsinghpur.Telegraph picture

Paradip, Aug. 21: A Class V student’s failure to solve a mathematical problem left her with a fractured right arm at a government-run school in Ersama block of Jagatsinghpur district here.

The teacher, Ramakanta Nayak, of Gadabishapur Upper-Primary School had allegedly beaten up 11-year-old Rozalini with a stick on Monday. The punishment did not end there. Rozalini was also made to kneel down under the scorching sun and do sit-ups for 200 times. The girl’s father, Niranjan Shukla, lodged a complaint with the school and mass education department against Nayak.

The district wing of the school and mass education department has launched a probe into the incident.

The headmaster in charge of the school, Prasanta Kumar Sahu, admitted that the girl suffered a fracture because of corporal punishment.

“The matter is being investigated. I am not the competent authority to comment on it,” he said. Jagatsinghpur district collector Satya Kumar Mallick said: “An inquiry has been ordered into the allegations. Prompt action will be taken on the probe findings.”

The district project co-ordinator of Sarva Sikshya Abhiyan, Ambar Kumar Kar, also said that the teacher would be taken to task if found guilty.

“It is very disturbing that cases of corporal punishment in both government and private schools have shot up despite a ban on it. Rising cases of harassment and physical torture on schoolchildren indicate that it has become imperative for teachers to attend workshops and learn the difference between abusing a child and disciplining him,” said child rights activist Binayak Swain.