By Express News Service

KOCHI: At a time when the Kerala government is taking efforts to promote Malayalam language in the state, a controversy has erupted in Kochi following allegations that a student of a private school was thrashed by a teacher for speaking Malayalam in class.

A 5th standard student of Assisi Vidyaniketan Public School at Njarackal in Ernakulam district was beaten up by an English teacher for talking in Malayalam among his friends in her class on Wednesday.

However, when contacted, the school management authorities said the English teacher was not the official staff of the school.

"Usually we hire private agencies to teach communicative English for our students so that they will learn to speak English through activities rather than just sticking to our curriculum. The teacher belonged to that agency, she had pinched the student not just for speaking Malayalam but also for not doing some tasks she had given for the class," said a school staff.

Following a complaint raised by the child's parents, the school management has terminated the teacher. "Officially we have terminated the teacher on Thursday itself and also proceedings are ongoing for terminating the contract with the agency," said Antony, manager of Assisi Vidyaniketan Public School.

The child's parents have also complained to the childline and child welfare committee (CWC), who in turn visited the school on Friday. "The pinched marks are evident on the kid's body and we have visited the school authorities to collect detailed information. The parents have withdrawn their complaint following the termination of the teacher from the school," said a child welfare committee official.