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CHENNAI: Teachers cannot be blamed for each and every act of students in schools, particularly in case of suicide, Madras high court has said, adding that parents were not expected to blame the teachers alone in the absence of any evidence.

“General blaming or causing dis-reputation would affect the image of the school and cause prejudice to the interest of the other children studying in the very same school. Causing dis-reputation may be an easy way out, but maintenance of discipline in government schools and achieving good results are difficult tasks,” Justice S M Subramaniam said.

The court made the observations while dismissing a plea moved by K Kala seeking to initiate disciplinary action against the headmaster of her son’s school in Nilgiris for allegedly abetting his suicide and order Rs 10 lakh as compensation. “The physical and mental health of the children are to be consistently monitored by the parents too, and the duties of the parents under the Constitution are also to be borne in mind,” the court said.

In a school, a large number of children are studying. One teacher has to take care of the number of students in a classroom. Thus, he /she may not be in a position to assess the mental health of every child attending the school, the court added.

“Duty cast upon the parents to create a good environment both inside the house and outside the house to the children are paramount important. The teachers and headmasters may be blamed only if there is evidence to establish that such teachers have committed any offence or violated the code of conduct issued by the department of school education,” the court said.