SIVAGANGAI: The headmaster of Government Primary School, Maruthuvakudi village, Sivaganga district, has been accused by students of forcing them to learn religious songs.

“The headmaster forces us to listen to Christian devotional songs on his mobile phone during class hours and asks us to sing it daily. Also if he finds religious symbols on our foreheads, he asks us to remove them immediately,” students of the school told Express.

Villagers who came to know about this complained to the Collector (in-charge) P Ilango on Wednesday against the headmaster G Santhakumar. They alleged that he beat the children for touching his car and for disturbing him while he was speaking on his mobile phone besides forcing the students to listen to religious songs in the classroom.

The headmaster justified beating the students claiming that they entered the sugarcane field near the school. Santhakumar denied that he forced the children to listen to Christian songs.

During a visit to the school on Thursday, it was found there was no sugarcane field nearby, only barren land.

When asked the about the corporal punishment, the students said, “The headmaster used to speak on his mobile phone in the classroom and he beat us if we wanted to clarify our doubts when he was on his phone. He thrashed us for touching his car but he forced us to clean his car regularly.”

Claiming that the headmaster was keen only on teaching religious songs, the students said, “He will play different songs on his mobile phone each day. Later, he will replay the song and ask us to sing along with it. Then he will ask us to practice the songs at home.”

“The headmaster also told us that evil spirits will not affect us if we sang these songs at home and asked us to try it in the graveyard,” said a Class V student.

The villagers claimed that they often found children singing those songs while playing in the evening. “The children sing Christian songs like rhymes when they play in groups without understanding the religious meaning,” said Ranjith, a youth.

The school has 16 students on its rolls and two teachers, including Santhakumar. A teacher confirmed that the headmaster forced children to learn religious songs in the classroom and sing them.