Karnataka: Students Forced To Clean School Toilets In Education Minister's Constituency

In Guddada Neralakere village, Komaranahalli gram panchayat, students were reportedly made to clean toilets.

Following this, parents and activists started demanding action against the accused teachers

Source : Pixabay

Yet another incident of students being forced to clean school toilets emerged in Shivamogga district, Karnataka, on Thursday. The students were compelled to engage in cleaning activities despite repeated warnings from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah about strict action. This incident has once again posed a significant embarrassment for the Congress government, especially as Karnataka Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa hails from the district.

In Guddada Neralakere village, Komaranahalli gram panchayat, students were reportedly involved in cleaning toilets. A viral video on Thursday showed students engaged in this task. The Dalit Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) filed a complaint with Assistant Commissioner Satyanarayana, alleging the involvement of headmaster Shankarappa and other teachers in making the students clean the toilets.

Following this, parents and activists started demanding action against the accused teachers. On December 23, the Karnataka Police arrested the headmistress of a government school in Bengaluru for allegedly forcing children to clean toilets. The arrest followed a complaint by Block Education Officer (BEO) Anjinappa with the Byadarahalli police station. Another incident was reported recently in Kolar district, where school children were asked to clean a septic tank on school premises.

The headmistress of a Bengaluru school was suspended following the circulation of a viral video purportedly showing students cleaning the school toilet, as reported by news agency PTI. This incident follows a similar case earlier in the week, where students in Kolar were allegedly compelled to clean the school's soak pit. In the widely circulated video, students were allegedly seen cleaning a school toilet in Andrahalli. In response, parents staged a protest, urging stringent action against the school authorities.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, "We don't want such things to happen, we have taken care of it. The case has been filed, and the headmaster has been suspended. We don't want kids to be used for such kind of activities. We have doubled the maintenance charge for all the schools."