Apropos of the news story “Complaint filed against teacher” (THT, February 17, Page 6), it is heartening to learn that a school teacher has badly beaten Kaushila Rai, grade six student of Shankheshwori Secondary School in Khotang, until she fell unconscious.

Rai is a regular and well disciplined student in her class.

There is no doubt that teachers are treated as respectable human beings in society as they impart knowledge and show right direction to children making them the future pillars of the nation. It is inhumane as well as a crime to give corporal punishment to students even if the students do not do their homework or go unruly in the classroom.

The teacher reportedly beat the student with a stick for a simple mistake she made. The management committee and the school principal should be held responsible for hiring such a person who is unfit for being a teacher. How can a school become a temple of learning when the teachers themselves do not know the basics of dealing with children.

The teacher has violated the child rights as well as gone beyond the teaching ethics. She deserves legal punishment. But other teachers should learn lessons from this event that children should be taught without corporal punishment.

On the other hand the District Education Office should also give training to teachers occasionally on how to behave with the students in the classroom and how to provide students with psychological counseling case by case.

Magar Bharat Khotange, Kathmandu

Pollinators

Bees, along with several species of moths, butterflies, beetles and flies, are important insect pollinators that are responsible for pollinating several major agriculturally and horticulturally important crop species, forest and orchard tree species; and numerous wild herbs, shrubs and trees that constitute the core framework of our fragile ecosystems.

In addition, some species of birds like the humming birds, and some mammalian species like bats and small rodents are also known to serve as natural pollinators.

Of all the pollinator species, native bee species hold special significance since they not only serve as natural pollinators, but also serve as an important natural resource for producing natural honey and bee wax for the highly profitable bee farming or apiculture industry globally.

Bees and other insect pollinators are therefore absolutely important for the global agriculture, horticulture, forestry industries, and for securing the natural ecosystems.

However, global bee populations are showing alarming signs of decline due to indiscriminate use of pesticides in agriculture, global warming and climate change, environmental pollution, lack of abundant bee foraging species hence bee nutrition to help them survive across seasonal fluctuations, diseases and parasitic infestations by other predatory insect species, to mention only a few factors.

Saikat Kumar Basu, Canada