Toothless Teachers: Unruly kids rule schools in Mumbai

“What did you bring in your tiffin today?” Neel a class 6th student asks his classmate casually.
Pat comes the reply, “Condoms”
Neel does not know the meaning of the word. He is but sure it is an abuse. He complains to his teacher about the incident. The teacher is enraged and punishes the Neel’s classmate for his mischief.
The boy who had been punished is very upset with Neel. He and his friends throw Neel out of their “team”. They even threaten other boys of the class to keep from befriending Neel.
In another incident, in a secondary class, a boy writes on his classmate’s arm “Bra” The boy on whose hand the word is written , shows his teacher his hand.
A furious teacher reprimands the boy who dared to write such “dirty” word.
That does not deter boys from doing harm.

Surprisingly, the kid who complained to the teacher is constantly facing the wrath of the group of the boys.
This happens in some school in Thane.
Schools have transformed into horrifying places. Seeds of ragging in colleges are sown in schools.
Problems galore.
In a CBSE school, in Chembur, in the early hours of the school, a standard 3 student cuts “slightly” his classmate’s ear by a sharp object. The school does nothing beyond warning the kid and his parents.
In standard I, the monitor of the class repeatedly warns a five year old “ I will take your blood out if you did not write.” The class teacher ignores her. The girl continues to enjoy threatening kids.

Interestingly such domineering kids never face any problem. They are a law unto themselves.
“That is what I tell you, make your kid tough. There is no point in complaining to me about my kid.” advises, Namita, a working woman and mother of two kids. Her son is notorious for hitting kids in their stomach. “He once casually lifted a stone and hit with it on the knees of other boy till blood started oozing out.
He even likes to watch the victim falling to ground and crying.” Tells his neighbour.


Many times soft targets are those who hail from homely, caring families. And tyrants are those who’s parents are either away or are not interested in spending time with their kids. According to them providing food shelter and clothes is just enough to bring up children. “ Who has the time to see what kids are doing outside?” is what they slap on you face.
Many children suffer extreme psychological turbulences.
On one of the nastiest occasions a second standard boy got frustrated due to endless teasings and treatment from his classmates. He climbed on the parakeet and threatened to jump from the first floor of a so called posh school in Trombay. He was rescued immediately by older boys. Does not the incident speak volumes of the magnitude of the problem?
When a mother of three year old expresses her concern with the teacher about the children’s unruliness and the indifference of the authorities,
“Keep your kid at home,” is the reply she gets. Arrogance is the law of the day. Well this is about the smaller kids.

“Older kids are all the more smarter. They have technology at their services. They use mobile phones to film small boys’ private parts in the toilet,” tells a teacher from Chembur.
So today’s kids are a law unto themselves. There is no one out to prevent them.
Even the teachers have no respite from the humiliation.
A boy from a primary section, repeatedly leaves his seat and puts small peaces of paper on his teacher’s head.
A headmaster publicly apologises for scolding a student for his misdeed.
Some other boy says “I want to urinate on my math teacher”.
That is not the end.
Know, to what extent the fearless kids go. A third standard girl inside her school says “Rat ko Principal ne patta khaya, phir thuka, subah uthkar wine piya.”( The principal chewed “pan” at night, and took wine in the morning.)


Verbal abuses, harassments and ex-communication , constant teasing, sending love letters to girls, blaming the innocent kids for one’s own deed, breaking friendship, lifting other’s clothes to see what inner ware they are wearing, expulsion from team, spilling others water and food are quiet normal episodes. Added to this, the misconception that “intelligent kids indulge in such activities” has thrown the atmosphere in schools out of governance.
The attitude of teachers has further compounded the situation. “What can we do? We are bound by laws. We can not touch a child. Parents come and insult us in front of the students”, tells a principal from a school in Mumbai. This is truly amazing and unfortunate! Children enjoy complete freedom.
“Kuch nahi kar sakte…..I only scolded a kid once. His father felt insulted. My misfortune is such that the kid and I stay in the same building. Before going out of station for a month, the father parked his car in front of my car in such a way that I was unable to take out my vehicle,” says a school authority from Vashi.
Read more, once a parent brought his kids late to school. They were asked to stand out till the assembly got over. The father of the kids got furious and told the principal that the school watch was ahead of time!
One school candidly admits that the day- to- day running of the school is getting increasingly difficult. “The kids are definitely having behavioural problems. How can they be so negative all the time? But where is the solution? At the most we organize parenting workshop; there too we get a poor response”.

Any takers?
The law makers must know that the kids are too smart to be left unguarded...
Schools cannot forget their role for shaping a child’s character. It is not advisable to take out all their teeth. Without rights, duties cannot be fulfilled and the schools are transformed into “masti ki nasty pathshala” and battle grounds for kids and parents.