PHIDIM: Challenging the concept of the need to foster child-friendly teaching-learning activities at school, a teacher of Siddha Devi Higher Secondary School has thrashed a student for not doing the assignment, at Nangin VDC, in Panchthar.

Jiban Shrestha, The teacher, thrashed Gopal Acharya, a fifth-grader, after he did not bring educational materials and submit the class work last Monday.

The incident came to light after the local health facility referred the minor to the district hospital as treatment was impossible at the local health facility. The minor had fallen ill after the teacher thrashed him.

Meanwhile, the victim’s father Om Nath Acharya said that the child had problem with passing urine after the teacher thrashed him on his back with a bamboo stick. “I found the school uniform wet with urine and asked him about the incident,” he added. He said that Gopal did not answer immediately, but later on he said that he was beaten by Jiban sir.

The guardians took Gopal to the district hospital after primary treatment at the local health post. “We kept Gopal for some days at the local health post, but he was taken to the district hospital after treatment was not possible there,” Om Nath informed. He said that school principal Rup Narayan Chapagain, along with other teachers, had dismissed the incident as something minor. “The school administration took the incident very lightly,” he said.

Head teacher Chapagain accepted the mistake. “Jiban sir did not beat Gopal intentionally,” he said. He denied that Gopal had become ill due to the thrashing. He said that Gopal had been suffering from some health problems before the incident.