A Tamil Nadu government school teacher is under inquiry for allegedly promoting Christianity among her students in the school and for asking them to “read the Bible.” The accused educator has been identified as Beatris Thangam, who taught sewing at the Kannattuvilai Government Higher Secondary School near Eraniel in Kanniyakumari.
The issue came to light after video clippings of a class six student in the school describing the teacher’s statements to her students went viral. According to the student, the accused teacher would ask the students to pray to Jesus Christ post-lunch. The student also added that the teacher told her to “read the Bible, as it has many concepts,” and that the “Gita was bad.”
The student claims that the teacher had narrated stories which referred to Hindus as Satan and spoke about dead people coming to life after verses from the Bible were recited.
Speaking to TNM, Ajith, the 35-year-old father of the class six student said that the children were complaining to their parents. However, the school authorities, despite being in the know, had failed to look into the complaints.
“The said teacher had joined the school last year from another institution. Despite the complaints, we believe the school kept a low profile without investigating the complaints. With the issue now coming to light, the Kanniyakumari District Collector has now intervened. The District Education Officer (DEO) has now launched an inquiry and the teacher has been sent on leave for two months,” Ajith said. The 35-year-old is a RSS Swayamsevak from the locality and on hearing the issue in the call, mobilised the Hindu Munnani (a Hindu political organisation) and submitted a complaint with the school. “After the issue caught media attention, some of the parents along with media persons and the police arrived at the school for questioning the school authorities. The school was represented by the additional head master and a physics teacher,” Ajith added.
In January 2022, the death of Lavanya, a class 12 student in Thanjavur caught the attention of the state as her parents alleged harassment forced conversion attempts by the warden of her hostel in Michaelpatti. However, no conclusive evidence of forced conversion has yet been found in the case.