Kolkata: Girl students of a private school in West Bengal were forced to strip their leggings and sit in class for hours Monday for not adhering to the dress code. The incident which came to light Tuesday has created a huge controversy in the state. The West Bengal Education Department is looking into the matter, though the principal of the school has already apologised for the incident.
The incident occurred in a private school in Bolpur which is approximately 190kms from this city. As the place is quite cold and with the first signs of winter setting in, a number of girl students studying in class one and three had gone to the school wearing leggings under their frock.
The matter first came to the notice of the class teacher of the third standard. She asked the students as to why they had broken the dress code. When none of them answered properly (how can a class 3 student throw light on such a matter) she informed the principal. Later on after being instructed by the principal, she forced the students to take off their leggings. Unable to do anything, the kids spent the entire day in school just in their frocks.
Parents got to know about the incident when the kids returned home. Tuesday all of them went to the Shantiniketan police station to lodge a complaint against the school authorities, but were not entertained.
“My daughter had gone to the school without any undergarment under the leggings. She was forced to sit like that in class for more than three hours. Is this the education they are getting for the fees that we are paying,” said the father of a class three girl.
Another guardian alleged that the police were not accepting their complaint. “There is no clear instruction from the school management that leggings cannot be worn. And the children had put it on to get protection from the cold. Why were they forced to take it off,” he fumed.
The question, however, most parents are asking is whether the school had the right to disrobe the students. Another parent said, “The authorities could have easily informed us. They did not do so and instead punished the kids in a ghastly manner.”
Agencies