Corporal punishment: Teacher breaks student’s hand

“She was beaten with a stick. The beating caused a fracture in her left hand,” says Father.

BAHAWALPUR: A teacher was accused on Tuesday of breaking a child’s hand at a government school near Luddan. Mohammad Hanif, a resident of Ghafoorwala village, told The Express Tribune that his daughter, a student of grade 1, in Government Girls Primary School in Majeedabad had been beaten by her teacher Fariha Fatima. “She was beaten with a stick. The beating caused a fracture in her left hand.,” he said. He said that his daughter had come home in pain great when he took her to a health centre. Doctors had told him she had suffered a fracture. He said he had submitted an application to Luddan police who were yet to register a case. Investigation Officer SI Mohammad Islam said they were waiting for the medical report. Education department Deputy Superintendent Musarrat Shaheen said she had constituted a two-member committee to conduct an inquiry into the matter. Teacher Fariha Fatima denied having beaten the girl. “She fell during the lunch break and broke her hand,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2012.