How can female teacher sexually harass: Principal's defence over Delhi student suicide

NEW DELHI: The principal of the Delhi school, which is facing ire over the suicide of a Class 9 student, on Thursday presented a bizarre defence in connection with sexual harassment allegations against a teacher. He said: "One of the teachers against whom allegations are being made is a woman. How can she sexually harass someone? The other teacher has been here for 25 years and we never got any such complaint."

The principal also defended the school saying she was an average student and claimed that her guardians did not attend her parent-teacher meetings. "If I see her record she was an average student, not very good at studies but a great dancer. Students' marks are given at PTMs but her parents didn't attend any. She didn't fail, had to give re-test," he said adding that the school mourns her death.

Noida Police has filed an FIR against two teachers and principal for allegedly abetting suicide. It has been alleged in the FIR that the girl was disturbed because of alleged sexual advances by one of the teachers.

The 15-year-old student, who committed suicide on Tuesday, was a resident of Sector 52 in Noida. Her family has alleged that one of the teachers of the school had tried to abuse her sexually and had even threatened to fail her in the examination.

"She told me her SST teachers touch her inappropriately. I said since I'm also a teacher I can say they can't do it, might be a mistake but she said she is scared of them, no matter how well she writes they'll fail her. Ultimately they failed her in SST. The school killed her," said her father.

Examination results of the school were declared on March 16 where she reportedly failed to pass two of the subjects. She was found hanging from a railing, following which she was rushed to Kailash hospital in Noida. A doctor, who attended to her, said that her pulse and blood pressure were unrecordable when she was brought to the hospital. "We tried to revive her but could not. The cause of the death can be known after post-mortem," she said.

Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia intervened in the matter on Wednesday and ordered a probe in connection with the suicide. Ordering a departmental inquiry, Sisodia said the student committed suicide on Tuesday allegedly due to academic pressure. 

Sisodia said the FIR quoted the girl's parents as alleging that the student was molested. He told the Delhi Assembly that he would table a detailed report in the House.