Teachers Alone Shouldn’t Be Blamed For Students Taking Extreme Step: High Court

The Madras High Court said on Thursday that parents also play an equally important part in determining a child’s future and that teachers alone should not be held responsible if a student takes the drastic decision to terminate his or her life.

The parents have a responsibility to give their kids a good atmosphere both within and outside the home, which is crucial. Only if there is proof that the instructors and headmasters have broken any laws or the school education department’s code of conduct may they be held accountable.

There was a growing trend of children dying by suicide across the country now. “Therefore, it is the duty of the parents as well as the teachers to ascertain the reasons and perform their respective duties as expected and create conducive circumstances for providing a better future to the children,” Justice SM Subramaniam observed.

The court was dismissing K. Kala’s writ suit, in which she demanded a 10 lakh compensation and appropriate action against the school’s headmaster for her son’s purported suicide.

The petitioner claims that she and her husband both earn a daily pay and have two girls and a son. Yuvaraj, her 17-year-old son, was enrolled in Gudalur Government Higher Secondary School’s 12th grade.

He was bullied by the headmaster of the school, who would shave the guys’ hair in public, rip their pants with a blade, and brutally beat and torture them. She said that her son committed suicide in August 2017 as a result of the HM’s persistent behaviour.The judge stated that the subjective satisfaction must be determined by carrying out a thorough inquiry or investigation to determine who is accountable for the child’s suicide. Simply pointing the finger at the HMs or teachers would damage the institution’s reputation, which is undesirable.

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