Lord Jegannath College Of Engineering And Technology

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  Abu cherian (guest)

  Engineering colleges don't spare the cane Arun Janardhanan | TNN | Sep 4, 2011, 03.16 AM IST CHENNAI: In June this year, when second year engineering student Abu Cherian returned to his college in Nagercoil after a day's leave, his teacher slapped him for not taking permission. "I packed my bags and left the college," says Cherian, who has joined an arts course in a Chennai college. It wasn't an easy decision. "My parents had spent much on capitation and other fees. Thinking of that, I put up with the physical and mental torture inflicted by teachers for almost two years. I knew I was frittering away a degree and a possible career. But the slap was too much to take," says the 20-year-old. Some put up, a few revolt, and virtually none complains. And hence corporal punishment remains one of the best kept secrets on private professional college campuses in the state. Cherian says four of his friends had discontinued studies last year because of such punishments. That's a brave thing to do. For, sometimes the college refuses to issue the student's school certificates. Meet Rajeev, a student who has been pleading with the Nagercoil college management for his school certificates after he discontinued the course following corporal punishment. "Some teachers would beat me up if I grew my hair long. My hostel warden would slap me in the wee hours to wake me up. They tortured me for nine months," says Rajeev, who is now in Bangalore searching for an employer who would not ask for his academic certificates. His friend, who had a similar fate, paid a few lakhs of rupees to get back his certificates. Canes may be slowly disappearing from schools since corporal punishment has been banned, but they do vie with 'T' scales on the engineering teacher's table. "They use canes, scales and just hand to beat students," says Rajeev. "Girls are not spared either. They are made to kneel for several hours for coming late to class or not completing homework." The owner of many colleges is known to beat students in front of teachers so that the teachers could learn from him how to discipline students. Though campuses have their own dos and don'ts, some of the offences are common on many campuses-like talking to a student of the opposite sex. Hilarious it may sound to an outsider, but the chairman of a string of educational institutions has made it a rule to have a rope along the aisle of his college buses to prevent 'mixing of girls and boys' on either side. One of the campuses has only lawns, no trees or bushes that may allow privacy to students! Violation of the no-talking-to-opposite-sex rule makes the managements furious and happy at the same time. "Happy, because the punishment includes a fine," says Cherian. "It varies from Rs 350 to Rs 500 depends on the duration of the conversation a boy had with a girl." Experts see in teachers handing out corporal punishment a false sense of discipline or just plain affinity to violence. "Such actions harm and insult students," says R Manoj, a senior clinical psychologist in the city. "It kills their creativity and self respect." A senior academician says though such practices continue on many private college campuses, complaints rarely reach the university or the government. "Having spent huge money, parents either put up with it or, if they decide to pull out the student, do it silently as they don't want the next college to suspect that the student had done something wrong to get a transfer certificate," he said. Higher education minister P Palaniappan said no such case had gone to him. "If we come across such practices, we will take strict action against such colleges," he said. Dear students Think twice Before you Hang Yourself - Victim

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