Heritage Convent to end suspension of deadlock: MACR
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 05 2014 : The Manipur Alliance for Child Right (MACR) in a press release appealed the authority of Heritage Convent, Uripok Bachaspati to immediately end the prevailing deadlock of suspension of three students by revoking the suspension order for the sake of protecting the academic career of the students and also complying the directives of the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

It is worth to remind that the decision of the school authority, for whatever reason it may be, is totally against the mandate of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, particularly section 16 which prohibits holding back and expulsion and section 17 which prohibits physical punishment and mental harassment to child, the release said and further added that school authority should have arranged intense counseling sessions, if it was found necessary, rather than placing the students under suspension for two weeks which ultimately impacted severe mental and emotional trauma to the girl children.

On the other hand, the statement of the Executive Director of the school as appeared in the Sangai Express on Saturday which runs " � the school authority sometimes places some extremely bad mannered students under suspension to give them changing their behavior" itself testified that the same school is practicing self regulated punishment methods against the students in the name of disciplining, which is nothing but a kind of corporal punishment which has been categorically banned by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2019 under section 17, it said.

The release further added that school and teachers are also accountable for the kind of manner students may behave, and those bad mannered students shall be given counseling � individual or group, life skill training etc, but not punishments like suspension from the school.

Furthermore, MACR expressed its grave concern upon the unresponsive attitude of the authority of the Heritage Convent, for it has refused to comply with an interim order passed by Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Right directing to allow a suspended girl student attend her class as usual and as such, an unwarranted precedent will bring lot of negative impacts that would disrupt the proper implementation of the right to education and ensure the best interest of the children, it concluded.

Comment