AP: Headmaster suspended after video of his beating students goes viral

The headmaster of a tribal welfare department-run school was suspended on Tuesday after a video surfaced on the internet in which he was seen beating up two children here.

Deputy Director of Tribal welfare department East Godavari Saraswati told ANI: "Officials have suspended the headmaster with immediate effect. A probe has been ordered in this matter and the Assistant Tribal Welfare Officer will conduct an inquiry. Based on the report, further action will be taken."

The incident reportedly took place in Sangawaka village, Kotananduru Mandal, where the headmaster was seen beating up the tribal students in the video.

"The condition of the school deteriorated because of headmaster Koteswara Rao. He along with other teachers punish the students brutally. They pull children by their hair and physically assault them. That is the reason why students are not showing interest in going to school," alleged a villager.

Another villager told ANI: "There was a Girijan Ashram Pathsala working under Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) since 1978 and it was a primary school. We fought to get its stature upgraded to upper primary school. We have campaigned in nearby areas and enrolled almost 180 students. The school and the hostel worked successfully for more than a decade."

"Now this headmaster Rao and another teacher called Nukaraju have ruined the hostel as they don't provide food to the hostellers. Moreover, they punish them severely and because of this, many students left the school," he alleged.

"Rao and the other teacher feel that they can go to some other place as they have a secure job and that's why they think that they don't have to find more students and enroll them in the school," he added.

Echoing the opinion, another resident said: "Probably 30 students will be studying there and both the school and the hostel aren't running properly. Now only a few children from the village are studying in the school.