Lucknow, 8 Aug: On Tuesday, the Association of Private Schools in Uttar Pradesh requested the UP government to introduce the ‘School Safety Bill’ or issue a government order prohibiting the arrest of any school member without a proper inquiry.
Following the arrest of a principal and a teacher in Azamgarh, the organisation believed it was necessary to implement certain “safeguard measures to ensure that heads of institutions and teachers were not harassed by police in case of any eventuality.”
On July 31, a Class 11 student from a girls’ college in Azamgarh allegedly committed herself. Following a complaint from the girl’s family members, the principal and the class instructor were detained on August 5.
The Uttar Pradesh Unaided Private Schools Association has also requested the state government to appoint a commission to investigate such events.
The Association of Private Schools will also make a representation to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in this regard. “We express our heartfelt condolences on the death of the girl student at Azamgarh School.
However, we strongly oppose the arrest of the principal and the instructor under Section 305 without any inquiry. The arrest has shaken teachers, principals, and school administration,” said Atul Kumar, head of the Association of Private Schools, during a news conference.
Kumar stated that while the student’s death was tragic, blaming the school’s principal and teachers without conducting an inquiry was an “injustice to the entire school fraternity.”
“Mobile phones are prohibited on school grounds, but parents continue to give phones to their children. It’s unfortunate that parents threaten to file a FIR against the school at the least provocation. Even children no longer respect teachers,” he remarked.
“The association requests that the UP government introduce the ‘School Safety Bill’ or a government order prohibiting the arrest of a school member without a proper investigation,” Kumar added.
Meanwhile, the majority of private schools in Uttar Pradesh remained closed on Tuesday, following a demand from their organisation to protest the arrest of a principal and a teacher in connection with a student suicide in Azamgarh district.
The school personnel conducted a two-minute silence in memory of the departed soul.
According to the Unaided Private Schools Association (UPSA), Director-General of School Education Vijay Kiran Anand promised the creation of a committee and requested the names of its members.
According to Anil Agarwal, president of UPSA, all private schools in the state would be completely operational as of Wednesday (August 9).
