CWC: Take action against teachers watching porn

Puducherry: The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has directed the police to take strong action against four teachers of the Thiru.Vi.Ka. government higher secondary school at Arumathapuram, near Villianur, accused of watching pornographic content on the school computer besides misbehaving with the girl students. Child Welfare Committee, Thiru.Vi.Ka. government higher secondary school,

“The CWC received phone calls from the parents teachers association and parents of the aggrieved students, seeking action against the four teachers. Following this, an emergency meeting was convened and the probationary officer of the CWC gathered complete details about the incident and submitted this in the form of a complaint to the police,” committee chairperson, Dr Vidya Ramkumar, told Deccan Chronicle.

She pointed out that the CWC is a statutory body appointed as the competent authority for all children in need of care and protection under the Juvenile Justice Act. The CWC shall function as a bench of nagistrates and shall have the powers conferred by the code of criminal procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) on a metropolitan magistrate or, as the case may be, a judicial magistrate of the first class.

However, mere suspension of the teachers by the education department is not sufficient. Stringent action must be taken against them. Further, use of children for pornographic purposes is punishable under section 13 and 14 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, Dr Vidya Ramkumar said. Hence, the CWC has suo motu directed the police to take criminal action keeping in mind the cognisant act of the accused and in the best interests of the children, she added.

The four teachers, Anbazhagan, Shivakumar and Abdul Malik, all trained graduate teachers, and Abdul Rasheed, physical education teacher, in the government school at Arumathapuram were suspended by the education department last week for watching pornographic material during school hours on the computer maintained by the school authorities, besides forcing girl students to watch it.