Teacher canes herself to mend ways of wards
Author: PTI Date: 31 Jan 2008
Idukki: Setting a new precedent on teacher-pupil relations, the principal of a local school caned herself to extract a confession from a boy, who had stolen the prize money won by his school-mates in a sports meet.
Meenakshikutty Amma of Model Residential School at Painavu here took the step after her initial request to the students to come clean on the matter did not bear fruit yesterday.
As soon as the theft of money was reported, she convened a meeting of senior boys where she announced that she would beat herself as punishment until the culprit came forward and admitted his guilt.
On doing so, the students pleaded with her not to punish herself for the mistake of others. The students even refused to disperse for lunch unless she stopped punishing herself.
In the end, her “new model” of handling students paid off as one boy came forward admitting that he has taken the money.
He also promised that he would never repeat the mistake.
“I know that the students are basically innocent and they came from poor background. Their circumstances might have tempted them to do that and I am sure that they would never repeat it again,” Meenakshikutty Amma told PTI.