Gutkha In Mouth, Drunk Headmaster Defecates, Makes Students Clean

He comes to school drunk. He defecates on the premises. He makes students clean up the mess. The disturbing allegations were levelled against a primary school headmaster by young students and their parents in the Maihar district of Madhya Pradesh.

"Sir comes drunk. He defecates inside the school and then makes us clean it up. He chews Rajshree (a gutkha brand) and spits all over the school," said a student at Amura Primary School.

A boy studying in Class 3 was one of those who were forced to clean faeces. "Sir made me pick up excreta and abused me. He comes drunk and can't teach multiplication tables," he said.

But that's not all.

Kol is always late to the school, alleged the villagers and the parents. He shows up as late as noon. Left with no instructions during this time, the children keep wandering around, their parents claimed.

Regular classes are not held, and the mid-day meal system is disrupted. Moreover, he spits gutkha (chewing tobacco) all over the premises, the stains of which were visible on the walls.

The most serious allegation is that the teacher defecates inside the school under the influence and makes the students clean it. The parents argued that this constitutes a serious violation of the children's mental and physical well-being.

Radha Dwivedi, mother of one of the students, said that the headmaster makes the children sweep the floor and fetch water.

"The teacher has no fixed schedule. When he does arrive, he chews gutkha and spits all over the school. He comes drunk and is not able to speak to anyone. He treats the school like a toilet. He relieves himself wherever he pleases and makes the children clean it. Not just my child, he makes others do this too," she said.

Another guardian said Kol usually comes to school around 11 am-12 pm. There is no fixed time. Neither is the midday meal served, nor are the gutkha stains whitewashed, she claimed.

"The children just wander around while he is in an intoxicated state. After defecating, he makes the children clean it up," stated Kranti Yadav, mother of another student.

Rukmani Bunkar, another mother, echoed similar concerns. "The children get no food or drink, and he teaches them nothing. There is no one here to oversee things," she alleged.

NDTV caught Kol off-guard when he was watching YouTube videos on his tablet in the school. He denied the allegations. And asked about the gutkha stains all around him, a visibly drunk Kol replied, "We will clean it up."

Block Education Officer (BEO) Rajesh Dwivedi has assured that the matter has come to his notice, and a show-cause notice has been served to the concerned teacher by the cluster principal. A proposal to suspend the headmaster is being sent to the District Education Officer (DEO)'s office, he added.