Varanasi: A headmistress of Primary School Purnakala in Sonbhadra’s Ghorawal block has faced disciplinary action after students were allegedly seen carrying bricks on the school campus. Her one annual increment has been stopped with immediate effect following a social media video showing students in school uniform shifting bricks for repair work on the school’s damaged boundary wall.Sonbhadra District Basic Education Officer Mukul Anand Pandey said on Sunday that an inquiry was conducted after taking cognisance of the video circulated on August 27. Based on the inquiry report, action was taken against Primary School Purnakala headmistress Mandavi Kumari.After going through the video footage showing students moving bricks for repair work on the damaged boundary wall, officials issued a notice to the headmistress seeking her explanation. In her reply, Kumari stated that nearly 10 feet of the school boundary wall had been damaged by anti-social elements. For its repair, two labourers and a mason had been engaged. She said the bricks were stored in a classroom and were being taken out by the labourers when some children began carrying them on their own. She claimed that the children were immediately called back into the classroom.After examining her explanation, Pandey found her reply unsatisfactory. The officer directed that children must remain under complete supervision during school hours and that such incidents must not recur. It was also made clear that any future lapse would invite strict departmental action, for which the headmistress concerned would be held responsible.
