education
Classes resumed today after nearly a week at the G D Birla Centre for Education here after the school management and guardians reached a settlement over the demand for removal of the principal in the wake of the sexual assault of a minor girl.
A school managing committee spokesman told PTI that classes of the senior section began this morning.
"The classes of the junior section will resume from tomorrow," he said.
The stalemate ended yesterday night after the management decided to "relieve" principal Sharmila Nath from her present responsibilities, following a three-hour long meeting with the Guardians Forum.
"The principal has been relieved of her present responsibilities with immediate effect, and the vice-principal and a coordinator will be officiating," the spokesman said.
A guardian of a senior-section student said, "We are very happy that classes resumed today. The stalemate would have affected studies of children had it continued."
On November 30, a four-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in the school, which led to the arrest of two physical training instructors amid a massive agitation by guardians.
The parents of the girl had lodged an FIR against Nath on December 2, demanding her arrest for allegedly suppressing facts about the incident.
Subsequently, Nath was summoned to the Kolkata Police headquarters in Lalbazar on December 5.
West Bengal Commission for the Protection of Child Rights chairperson Ananya Chakraborti, who was also present at yesterday's meeting, said, "The principal has been relieved of her responsibilities. We are happy over the outcome."
The meeting was attended by the school management, representatives of the Guardians Forum and senior police officers.
A spokesperson of the forum said the school management has promised to look into their other demands -- having no male teacher in both junior and senior sections and installation of CCTV in school buses.
The police have also formed a special committee to look into the allegations of negligence and false representation on part of the school principal.
