A teacher from a Mandal Parishad school in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district, identified as K Koteswara Rao, was suspended for consuming alcohol while on duty. The drunk school teacher was caught on camera by a parent in the staff room of the school on Friday. The now-suspended teacher also allegedly misbehaved with the parent who was recording the incident. Students of the school also accused the teacher of assaulting them and in one case, stripping a student as a form of punishment.
The video footage that was taken by the parent has gone viral on social media and shows Koteswara Rao having his lunch with an empty bottle of alcohol on the table and appearing visibly drunk. When the parent, identified as Renuka, asked the man if what he was doing was acceptable, the drunk teacher is seen offering his plate of food to the parent. As he was confronted about his behaviour, he even dared the parent to record him as he said he would undress before her.
In another video footage supposedly taken by Renuka, an unidentified student of the school accused the teacher of asking him to strip as a form of punishment. Rao has been accused of abusing the student's mother when drunk and hitting a student who did not do well in a dictation test.
The student said that the teacher stored the alcohol in a cupboard and would drink in the school bathroom everyday. A group of parents from the school have filed a complaint with the Education Department. Chittoor District Education Officer G Narasimha told the media that they have suspended the school teacher with immediate effect.
Officials said that further action will be taken after verifying the other accusations made against the teacher by the students and parents.