Arya News - Andhra Pradesh’s regional minister of education says he is taking legal action with a committee against those responsible.
Authorities in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have launched an investigation after a six-year-old child collapsed and reportedly died after he was slapped by his teacher in a school classroom.
The incident was captured on a security camera in the school in Visakhapatnam in the southeast Indian state, before being shared widely by local media on Thursday. The incident is already causing an uproar around corporal punishment in the country.
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“We are taking legal action against those responsible and the school management,” Nara Lokesh, Andhra Pradesh’s education and IT minister, wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
Police are also investigating the circumstances around the death of the child, who local media have named as Pranay Tej.
“As a father, I can’t get over what happened to little Pranay Tej. I cannot imagine the pain his parents are going through. Corporal punishment has no place in our schools. No child should ever be subjected to violence in the name of discipline,” Lokesh wrote on X on Friday.
“I have already directed a full investigation and strict action against anyone found responsible. My heart goes out to Pranay’s family in this moment of unimaginable grief.”
Relatives gathered at the hospital after learning about the boy’s death and demanded strict action against those responsible, according to NDTV India.
Pranay Tej’s father said his son appeared healthy in the morning before going to school. “In the morning around 8am, my son woke up and said he wanted to go to school. He insisted on going to school,” he told NDTV.
Police Inspector Pudi Vara Prasad told Press Trust of India: “Following a written complaint from the boy’s father, we have registered a case under Section 194 of the BNSS and launched an investigation.”
Prasad said the body was handed over to his parents after police “completed the inquest and post-mortem procedures”.
He added that “once all relevant reports are received, we will determine the exact cause of death”.
A 2018 study by the Indian NGO Agrasar found that roughly 80 percent of low-income school children in India experience corporal punishment from teachers, despite it being officially illegal.
Palla Srinivasa Rao, Andhra Pradesh state president of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), told Press Trust of India that “the government has reacted appropriately” in the aftermath of the incident.
“Our IT and Education Minister, Nara Lokesh Garu, has already formed a committee, and based on the committee’s report, we will definitely take action,” he said.