Teacher in Puttur asks students to remove dirty ‘rakhis’, parents say it hurt their sentiments

Parents, and members of Sangh Parivar, on Monday, expressed their displeasure with a teacher who had asked the students of Government Higher Primary School in Papemajalu, of Puttur taluk, to remove the “rakhis” tied around their wrists.

The parents said the teacher told the students to remove the “rakhis” tied around the wrists, and had scolded them for wearing it. Headmistress Terez M Sequeira, however, said the rakhis on their wrists had become dirty and had turned black.

“We had asked the students to get it removed in the interest of their health, as it gets wet while washing the hands. The teachers did not scold the students,” she said.

The parents said children told them about the teachers scolding them for wearing the rakhis, and then got it removed.

“The rakhi was not tied around the wrist for religious purposes. Raksha Bandhan has its own significance. No other educational institutions have asked the students to remove it. This has hurt our sentiments,” one of the parents said.

The parents asked the teachers to tie the rakhis on the children and handed over a bunch of those to the teachers.

“The issue has been solved amicably. Head teacher tendered an apology for committing the mistake without any intention. Such incidents will not recur in the school,” a parent, Rajesh Perigeri, said, adding that the issue was sorted.