Denied sick leave, pregnant Andhra teacher collapses at workshop and bleeds to death

Sudharani, who was 3 months pregnant, had sought an exemption from the workshop but the school reportedly turned down her request.

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In a shocking incident, a teacher working at a school of the Sri Chaitanya Educational Institutions bled to death during a workshop in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. 32-year-old Sudharani, who hails from Anantapur, worked as a Hindi teacher at the Anantapur branch of the Sri Chaitanya school and was attending a workshop in the school’s Kurnool branch where the incident took place.

According to local reports, Sudharani was three months pregnant and had applied for leave, seeking an exemption from attending the workshop since she was not feeling well. However, the school allegedly turned down her request and sought her presence at the special workshop, which was being held from May 6 at the school’s Kattamanchi residential campus in the outskirts of Kurnool district.

While many women continue to work all through their pregnancy, chances of miscarriage are known to be higher in the first 12 weeks.

On the third day of the workshop, on Wednesday evening, Sudharani fell unconscious and reportedly started bleeding. The school management rushed her to the hospital at night but it was too late – Sudharani had already lost a lot of blood because of the miscarriage and died on Thursday morning. Sudharani was the sole breadwinner of her family, reports say, and is survived by her husband and son.

Sudharani’s death has sparked outrage among teachers’ associations. Private Teachers and Lecturers Union (PTLU) staged protests against the school and demanded justice for Sudharani.

Speaking to TNM, Chand Basha, the state convenor of PTLU, alleged that her body was secretly transported back to Anantapur, her hometown, by the school authorities.

“She was threatened by the school management that she would be fired from her job if she failed to attend the workshop. She was compelled to attend the workshop in spite of her health issues," Basha said.

Basha also questioned the organisation of the workshop during the summer holidays and claimed that rules were flouted indiscriminately to hold the ‘unauthorised’ workshop. He has demanded action against the school’s management.

Meanwhile, teachers’ associations informed the District Collector of the incident, after which he ordered the District Education Officer (DEO) to conduct a probe. However, the association has alleged that the DEO is yet to begin an investigation. The PTLU told TNM that the association will now be filing a police complaint against the management of the school.

TNM spoke to District Collector Sathyanarayana, who said, "I have asked for report from the DEO and he will take action." When asked about the associaltion's allegation that the probe is yet to begin, he said, "It is premature to say right now. I will check with the concerned officials and let you know."

Nannapanini Rajakumari, AP Women’s Commission Chairperson, said, "If anyone from the woman's family reaches out to us or files a formal complaint, we will take necessary action."

(This is a developing story. TNM is making efforts to reach out to the family of the deceased teacher)