K'taka Govt School Pupil Made To Clean Toilets; Third Case This Month

In the third case coming from Karnataka this month, students from a government school in the Shivamogga district were allegedly made to clean toilets during class hours. Parents of the school's students were left enraged, leaving them to protest. The Press Trust of India reported that the headmaster of the school in Bhadravati town was suspended on Thursday since a video of the pupil scrubbing the toilets went viral online. This comes only days after the State's education minister Madhu Bangarappa assured that no more such activities will take place in schools. 

According to Dalit organisations, students from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes were picked to clean the toilets, as reported by India Today. However, these claims have not been confirmed. Regardless, the video of the incident has caused outrage among parents and on social media.

Should Students Be Made To Clean Toilets?

The school's headmaster Shankarappa was suspended since parents demanded action over making their children perform manual labour in school. Allegedly, the headmaster stated that he made the students only pour water and clean up after themselves, and not scrub toilets. However, the video footage shows otherwise.

Shivamogga Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) Parameshwarappa said that an FIR has been filed and a probe has been launched over the caste-based allegations. He allegedly told the parents that the students were made to work because the government-funded school was not able to afford or hire cleaning staff. He assured them that the Block Education Officer has been informed to ensure such incidents don't happen again.

Parameshwarappa told PTI, “The Block Education Officer has submitted a report, based on which I have initiated disciplinary action against the headmaster of the school. This is unacceptable and so, we have suspended Headmaster Shankarappa in connection with the incident in the school last week." 

A few weeks ago, a government school in Andrahalli, Bengaluru came under fire for similar allegations; before which, students from a Kolar school were also made to clean toilets and a pit. Allegedly, Dalit students were picked out for this ordeal. The residential school's principal and two staff members were suspended.

The secondary education minister of Karnataka, Madhu Bangarappa, had deemed these incidents "shocking" and "deplorable," warning that such incidents should never happen again. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had also warned to take strict action against such further cases.