The general education department has served a notice to a playschool in Mattancherry where a three-year-old boy was allegedly subjected to cruelty by a teacher on Wednesday (October 9. 2024). The school was asked to produce relevant documents for their operations immediately failing which it will be shut down.
An institution to offer pre kindergarten education should secure a no objection certificate (NOC) from the education department. The notice has asked the school to produce that NOC.
Reportedly, the institution was only permitted to function as a daycare or crèche. We have already conducted inspection at the play school as soon as the incident was reported. In the event of their failure ro produce the NOC, the institution will be closed down immediately, said district education sources. Since then, the Education Minister V. Sivankutty has also intervened in the matter.
The Mattancherry police had booked a 36-year-old teacher at the playschool on Thursday (October 10 2024) after the boy’s mother lodged a petition on Wednesday. The accused was booked under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Section 75 (cruelty to children) and the relevant Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous means or weapons.
Later, the teacher managed to secure bail.
According to the complaint, the child had been reluctant to go to the playschool for a month and had marks of suspected beatings even in the past. The complaint was lodged when similar marks appeared on the child’s body again on Wednesday, the petition said. Following this, the accused was arrested and booked on Thursday (October 10, 2024).
Published – October 12, 2024 01:49 pm IST