A teacher can no longer pat or slap a student on the back, to praise or to reprimand. A teacher can’t even help a student with a loose necktie knot or an unbuttoned sleeve.

Such has been the loss of faith in the sanctity of the teacher-student relationship following a principal’s arrest last week on the charge of molesting a Class XII girl that many schools in the city would rather be safe than sorry.

The logic behind the restrictions is that the slightest touch could be construed as an act of violation and a seemingly harmless pat might be loaded with illegal intent.

Not only has any kind of physical contact been barred, schools insist that both male and female teachers accompany students when they need to step out of the campus for any extra-curricular activity.

“It is a violation of a child’s trust,” Anjana Saha, principal of Mahadevi Birla World Academy, said of any unsavoury incident involving a teacher and a student. “The school is supposed to be a non-threatening environment and we need to keep it so.”

The male teacher is not the only one being seen as a potential threat. “It is not gender specific, even females can be perpetrators,” Saha said.

The Association of Christian schools, an organisation of the founder bodies of Christian missionary-run institutions in Bengal, is planning a meeting to discuss the incident that occurred in a south Calcutta school last Tuesday.

“It is shocking that a principal who had been in charge for over 10 years was allegedly indulging in such activities. It is a matter of great concern. But no guideline can work without a sense of responsibility. We need to sit and deliberate on ways to create that awareness,” an official of the Church of North India said.

Father Moloy D’Costa, secretary of the education commission of the founder bodies of schools run by the Roman Catholic Church, said the nature of the incident involving the school principal required an “independent” inquiry.

In some of the private English-medium schools of Calcutta, the message to be cautious is loud and clear. Delhi Public School Ruby Park, The Heritage School, the Apeejay schools, Mahadevi Birla World Academy, Birla High School for Boys and Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan discourage teachers from patting students on the back, irrespective of how well-meaning the gesture might be.

“We keep telling teachers during orientation and also otherwise that if they have an urge to use their hands either to express extra affection or anger, they should immediately take their hands behind their back,” said Seema Sapru, principal of The Heritage School.

In some of the country’s top schools, students are taught to speak to seniors and teachers with hands behind their back as a mark of respect. The role reversal, ironically, is the result of diminishing respect for the student-teacher relationship.

At Heritage, if a boy approaches a female teacher to help him with a tie knot, she is advised to ask for the tie. After the knot is in place, she is required to return the tie to the student to put around his collar by himself.

If a senior boy is spotted with sleeves rolled up and he makes an excuse about not being able to button up himself, the teacher must ask a male friend of the student to help him out.

In girls’ schools that have male teachers such as Mahadevi Birla World Academy, authorities make sure that a female teacher is in the vicinity when they are taking classes. Vigil on corridors has been strengthened, too.

“I have told the teachers that strict disciplinary action would be taken for every proven complaint,” said Anushree Ghose, principal of Delhi Public School Ruby Park.