Thiruvananthapuram: Student expelled for hugging schoolmate

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The parents of a Class XII student of St Thomas Central School at Mukkola in Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala have decided to appeal to a high court division bench against the expulsion of their 16-year-old son for hugging a girl from Class XI after she won a prize at an arts competition in school.The boy also uploaded pictures of the girl with him on social media. The incident happened on July 21.Apart from hugging, the school authorities held him guilty of publishing pictures taken together on social media, which they said was violation of the school’s disciplinary code. According to Rajan Varghese , secretary of Mar Thoma Church Educational Society, the student was issued transfer certificate based on the report from the enquiry commission. “It is violation of school discipline,” he said.Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights in an order issued on October 4, stated that the school should permit the boy to attend classes and continue his education. The order based on the student’s complaint was challenged by St. Thomas School’s management in the HC, and on December 12, a single bench of the HC quashed the Commission’s order. The boy’s parents are appealing against this decision.Incidentally, the single bench in its order, while defending the institution’s right to “maintain and sustain the standard and reputation of the school” also called upon the principal and teachers to take a broader outlook on the issue in their capacity as “loco parentis” and noted that “nothing standing in the way of the school authorities rising to the occasion and re-considering the issue”. Significantly, the single bench also pointed out that “neither the girl student nor her parents has made any complaint in this regard to anyone”.