Four women teachers who allegedly asked a girl to remove her top innerwear before letting her enter the classroom to write the NEET entrance exam at a school near Kannur on Sunday have been suspended for a month by the school authorities. The state police is to probe the incident, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.
The management of TISK English Medium School in Payanur near Kannur has also started its own probe into the incident. Principal Jamaluddin K confirmed the suspension, but said he was yet to receive a complaint.
The issue also echoed in the Kerala Assembly today, with both the treasury and Opposition benches condemning it.
Vijayan said the incident of the girl student removing her inner wear would be examined legally after registering a case. “A woman police official has been directed to meet the student and her parents,” he said.
Further, the Kerala Child Rights Commission has sought a detailed report from the CBSE within 10 days, while the Kerala Human Rights Commission registered a suo motu case against the education board and demanded a high-level probe.
Parents of the affected children are also planning to write to the CBSE chairman and the National Human Rights Commission.
The strict adherence to the CBSE's anti-cheating dress code for those appearing for the NEET-UG held on May 7 has come in for criticism after a student was forced to remove her inner wear, another had to change her jeans as it had pockets with metal buttons, and several others sked to remove their scarves, nose-pins and cut sleeves of their tops.
Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which conducts the NEET, called the incident unfortunate and a “consequence of overzealousness”. However, the board defended its stringent dress code as a measure to “secure the sanctity” of the high-stake examination.