MY FIRST DAY IN A SCHOOL

It was September 2007. I was transferred from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir  where I had served for 4 years  as a Principal of a Senior Secondary school. I had to occupy a position which my predecessor had occupied for 8 long years in  this reputed school located in central Punjab. He was a very senior  and effective Principal.

Staff was quite curious to know about me. At least they were expecting a change in the administration. Some teachers who were very close to my predecessor were ostensibly upset. Some others were excited to see a new face. There was eagerness on the faces of students too. After addressing Morning Assembly of nearly 1500 students and 60 teachers I entered my office. I was accorded a warm welcome by staff.

On my first day I thought to remain confined to my office. I avoided moving out to maintain a low profile.  After doing some routine signatures on handing over/taking over of   files I found myself idle. But to remain idle is not in my blood. I called my sub-staff and asked him to bring  Attendance Registers of all 4 sections of class XI. I knew the level of indiscipline is usually very high in this class. I noticed that absence of students in these classes was quite conspicuous. The telephone numbers of the parents were also recorded in the Attendance Registers. I thought of calling their parents and enquiring about the reasons of their absence.

My first phone was given to the parent of a girl student. Her sister picked up the phone. I enquired about the whereabouts of that girl. She started enquiring mu whereabouts. I told her about myself. She said that she had gone to school in the morning. I said that  she was not present in school which  made her upset. I asked her not to send her sister alone to school next day rather she has to be accompanied by her parents. She said she would do that.

Second phone call was made to the parent of a boy. On my enquiry I found him at home as he was not feeling well. I might have made 10-11 calls when I found an other girl who had left her house in school dress but had not reported in the school. I asked the parent to come to school with his daughter tomorrow. He also became upset and promised that he would do that. Further after making 5-6 phone calls to the parents I found another boy  and a girl who had left their homes, but did not reach school.

Next day the investigations began. It was found that these two girls and two boys from my school who were also joined by another girl of a local college and a boy  who worked in some local shop, they  had a plan to see a movie in a city theatre may be some other plan as well. The Bicycles of these girls were parked some where near the school  and they were made to sit on the motorbikes by  these boys  who took them to a  theatre which was located in the centre of that city. There, in the washrooms of that theatre the girls changed their school uniform and slipped into personal  outfits which they had smuggled from their respective homes in their school bags. They were  enjoying movie but their parents at home were now a worried lot.

After movie-two boys and two girls of my school started driving  back towards the house of one of these boys. The parents of this boy had moved on  to a pilgrimage in Himachal. The two bedroom  house was vacant. They spent some time there in two separate rooms where the girls slipped into their school uniform.

5 minutes before the closure of the school, they picked up their parked bicycles and mingled with the rest of the students who were coming out of the school gate to reach their respective homes.

At homes their parents were eagerly waiting to give them a befitting welcome. I had asked the parents to intimate me about their arrival. I started getting phone calls of parents. They were asked to report next day in my office.

One of the parents who was from West Bengal started beating his daughter in my presence. I got up from my seat and stopped him from doing so. The Discipline Committee of the school was asked to propose action against them. By taking parents into confidence I decided to place all of them under suspension. The news of their suspension spread like wild fire in school. All staff and senior students started having a feeling that new  Principal was very strict. There after I did not encounter a major indiscipline issue and had a smooth sail during my 4 succeeding years.

The incident which I have explained above is not an unexpected one. Similar incidents do happen in almost all schools. But most of the time they remain un-noticed. Both Class Teachers who mark the attendance of students  daily  and parents who send their students to schools have a huge joint responsibility. Any  unauthorized  absence of students has to be taken very seriously by the Class teachers. Had the Class teachers been vigilant on this issue-such incidents could have  been  minimized, if not fully controlled. Similarly if parents do not keep a close vigil on the movements of their school going children-they will have to face the music.