Telangana: Teacher cuts hair of students with funky hairstyles, gets suspended in Khammam

The incident led to a protest by the students and their parents against the forced haircuts, with the teacher getting suspended.

Khammam: A teacher, who was reportedly upset over the funky hairstyles coupled with unruly behaviour of a few students, used a scissor to cut the hair of about 15 students. The incident led to a protest by the students and their parents against the forced haircuts, with the teacher getting suspended.

The incident which caught attention of social media occurred at the Zilla Parishad High School, Peruvancha in Kallur mandal on Saturday. The teacher D Shirisha, who teaches English, allegedly cut the hair of nearly 15 students of Classes 8, 9 and 10 on the school premises.

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The reason she gave was that the students were rather unruly in the class, lagging behind in studies and when asked to answer questions, they used to toss their hair. She told the media that the students were told several times to get a decent haircut while attending the school, but in vain.

As Shirisha cut their hair in her own way, it turned out to be uneven and that was what irked the students as well as their parents, who resorted to a protest in the school. The teacher, being candid, said the students objected to cutting their hair saying they would be shamed if the hair was cut and advised to get it trimmed in the barber shop.

When contacted, District Education Officer E Somashekhara Sharma said on Sunday that the teacher was suspended and an enquiry was ordered into the incident. Meanwhile, several teachers’ associations wanted to withdraw the suspension orders against Shirisha, who is a winner of the best teacher award.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Telangana STF State general secretary Devarakonda Saidulu said there was nothing wrong in asking students to attend school with neat hair and in clean clothes. Teachers have a moral and social responsibility towards students and they were worried at the parents’ response to the incident.

As a video of students speaking to the media was shared on social media and telecast on TV channels, many came out in support of the teacher saying it required some guts to bring order in schools and that it was good for the students’ future.