Morarji Desai Residential School students forced to clean septic tank, minister orders probe

KOLAR: A government school principal and teachers allegedly got some children to get down into a septic tank of the school toilet and clean it. The incident took place at Morarji Desai Residential School near Yelavalli village in Malur taluk of Kolar district.

After the issue came to light, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa directed department Principal Secretary P Manivannan to suspend the school principal, warden and Group-D employees. Though there is a ban on the use of human labour for cleaning of sewers, ditches, pits and septic tanks, the school principal allegedly got children to get into a pit in the residential school. All children are said to belong to Scheduled Community.

After the act came to light, Joint Director of the Social Welfare Department, Srinivas, visited the school and conducted an inquiry. There are about 250 children in the residential school and their parents have demanded action against the teachers who illtreated the children.

Principal Bharatamma, however, claimed that it is not a septic tank, but that the children got inside a chamber to clean it as part of a cleanliness drive. But other teachers say that it is a septic tank. Parents are now questioning why their children should be lowered into the chamber.

H C Mahadevappa said the cleaning work is done by Group-D workers and added that the principal and the warden are also responsible for this. “It is not right to use human labour for such cleaning, whether it is children or anyone else. It is an unforgivable crime. Further investigation will be done by the department and action will be taken”, he said.