School students forced to clean toilets in Karnataka’s Shivamogga, 3rd incident this month

School students forced to clean toilets in Karnataka’s Shivamogga, 3rd incident this month

In yet another incident, school children in Karnataka’s Shivamogga were allegedly made to clean toilets. A video of the students went viral on social media, prompting the District Block Education Officer to file a report.

The students studying at Guddada Neralakere village in the limits of Komaranahalli gram panchayat were allegedly seen cleaning toilets.

This is the third such incident in the southern state this month. Last week students of a government school in Bengaluru were also found cleaning toilets. Furious parents and activists staged protests outside the school in the city’s Andrahalli area.

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In the Andrahalli case, state Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa condemned the “deplorable” incident. The minister, who was involved in a car crash late last night but is safe, has not yet responded to the incident in his district.

“… there is no doubt we will take the strictest action as per law. Further, I will ensure such incidents don’t repeat… and will ensure all necessary action is taken by our department,” he had said.

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After the Bengaluru shocker, the Education Department suspended the school headmaster, and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar warned those who would force children to perform such tasks.

Before the Bengaluru and Shivamogga incidents, the principal and a teacher of a residential school in Kolar district were arrested, and four contractual staff sacked after another horrific video – of Dalit students cleaning a septic tank emerged.

Those visuals were from the Morarji Desai Residential School that has 243 students, four of whom were made to climb down into the tank and clean it with their hands as a punishment. The visuals sparked outrage and led to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah intervening.