School in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor makes latecomers stand naked outside school building; Twitter outrages as video goes viral

A private school in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday punished students who came late by making them stand naked outside the school building. Images of the punished students, who went to Chaitanya Bharathi School at Punganur, were subsequently posted on Twitter.

Andhra Pradesh- Chittoor DEO tells me that investigation is underway on the incident where students were punished and made to stand naked in Chaithanya Bharathi School, Punganur. DEO says recognition of school for 2019-2020 could be withdrawn. #AndhraPradesh @CRYINDIA #POCSO pic.twitter.com/BRDgQL1qWw

— Rishika Sadam (@RishikaSadam) December 27, 2018

According to reports, a complaint was registered against the school management, and education authorities have begun investigating the incident. There are also demands to cancel the school’s registration. This is not the first time such an incident has been reported in the state. NDTV reported that in 2015, two students of a government school in Bheemunipatnam Mandal were hospitalised after a teacher allegedly asked them to take off their shirts and stand in the sun, as punishment for not doing their homework. The students, who are brothers, reportedly collapsed after standing in the heat for nearly three hours.  Two teachers, Rani Kumari and Anil Kumar were suspended, The News Minute reported. The incident came days after a 13-year-old student in Andhra Pradesh alleged that her school principal forced her to take a pregnancy test, over suspicions that she was having an affair with a teacher. Activists, social media hits back Following the incident, child rights activists and netizens alike condemned the incident. Child rights activists have alleged that the principal of the private school and the local divisional educational officer tried to hush up the incident when the video of punishment went viral and the parents lodged a protest, India Today reported. India Today also quoted activist Achyut Rao as saying: “We earnestly request the (National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights) to issue orders to initiate action under the provisions of Posco Act and immediately order an enquiry.” On Twitter, one user tweeted: “Shocking punishment by a private school In Chittoor ~#~AndhraPradesh, minor students were forced to stand necked as they came late to the school. Child rights activists demand criminal action on management.