Class 8 girl on menstruation made to sit outside classroom for exam in a private school near Coimbatore

Private school in Coimbatore district faces backlash for making menstruating student write exam outside classroom, sparking inquiry.

A private school in Coimbatore district made a Class 8 student write her annual examination outside the classroom on Wednesday, as she was on her menstruation cycle. A video of the student writing the exam seated on the steps, recorded by her mother, went viral on social media, prompting an inquiry.

The victim is a student of a matriculation school in Senguttaipalayam near Pollachi. As two exams were scheduled this week, her parents requested a separate desk inside the classroom for her comfort, said sources. However, on Monday, she was asked to sit on the steps outside the classroom to write the exam. When her parents visited the school on Wednesday, they again found her writing an exam on the steps. In a video recorded by the mother, the student is heard saying that the principal had instructed her to sit outside

Director of Matriculation Schools, A. Palanisamy, said, “The Chief Educational Officer is conducting an inquiry. After the report is received, appropriate action will be taken. An explanation has also been sought from the school management by the District Educational Officer for private schools.”

Assistant Superintendent of Police Shristi Singh, who conducted a preliminary inquiry on Thursday, told reporters: “The mother of the student called the class teacher on the evening of April 6 around 5:30 p.m. and requested a special seating arrangements. The class teacher reportedly asked the mother to speak to the principal.

“On April 7, Monday, while dropping off her daughter, the mother met the principal and asked that a separate arrangement be made to prevent infections. After she left, the student was made to sit outside the classroom to write the exam. That evening, she returned home and complained of leg pain from sitting on the floor. She did not attend the revision class the next day, and returned on Wednesday to write another exam. One of the relatives noticed her sitting outside, through the compound wall, and informed the parents. The mother rushed to the school and recorded a video of the incident.”

She added that no formal complaint had been lodged yet, and once it was received, a fair investigation would be carried out.

Meanwhile, the school correspondent has issued a suspension order to the school principal under Section 17 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which prohibits physical or mental harassment of children.