Meghalaya school forces student to wear shoe garland for not speaking English

In Meghalaya, a sixth-grade student who refused to speak English inside the school campus was allegedly "punished" by being made to wear a pair of filthy shoes around his neck. The child was reportedly paraded before the headmaster, faculty members, and fellow pupils while wearing the dirty shoes.

The child's parents filed a police complaint, alleging that the school subjected their kid to "severe", "disturbing" and "unlawful" penalties.

The complaint registered by the parents read, “The punishment was disturbing and it was unlawful that my son was made to wear slippers around his neck. Hence this act of illogical behaviour is condemnable.”

Children studying in the school said that the "shoe parade" would occur after the headteacher announced the names of students during the school assembly.

The children said that this occurred on alternate days and that the shoes were purportedly taken from trash cans.

According to sources, the headman of the village stated in a complaint, “Many more such inhumane punishments have been meted out in the school like licking dustbins, corporal punishment and chopping of hair."

The headman demanded stern action against the teachers and sought justice for the students, urging that both mental and physical torture of the kids be stopped. 

Rakkam A. Sangma, the state's minister of education, asked for a report on the incident from the district's deputy commissioner as well as the education department.

The Education Minister described the incident as "unfortunate," and he promised to look into it once he received the District Magistrate's report.

The incident comes at a time when the government plans to introduce school textbooks in vernacular languages as part of NEP 2020.

The mother tongue has been shown to enhance critical thinking and innovation, according to NEP 2020. In Meghalaya, the three main languages used for communication are Khasi, Garo, and Jaintiya. ​