Tirupattur headmaster battles for life in ICU

The pain is writ large on Babu’s wife Porkodi’s face, as she sits pensively at the entrance to the ICU at the Sri Narayani hospital and research centre at Malaikodi, 8 kilometres from Vellore on the Odugathur road. 

Porkodi has no visitors except her son and a relative who occasionally offers her a cup of coffee. Doctors have given her husband 48 hours – which ends today at around 2 pm – only after which they will take a call on his recovery. 

According to medical reports, when the student attacked Babu with a knife, he first aimed for the head and when Babu raised his hand to ward off the blow, it resulted in his hand, right ear and shoulder receiving cuts. The attacker then stabbed the headmaster in his stomach.

The incident has shaken up the teaching community across the state. Two teachers from another school in Tirupatthur who came to the hospital on Tuesday evening lamented the present state of education where teachers have been instructed not to be harsh with students and ‘hurt their sentiments’. Rathnavel (name changed on request) said, “What is the security for us teachers when even a headmaster can be attacked in his own school by his own student?” 

“Babu is known for being a strict with his students who do not realise that it is for their own good,” he adds. “He is also strict with his own children and the results can be seen by the success in their studies.” Babu has a son and daughter who are studying Dentistry and Science respectively, at Chennai. His wife Porkodi refuses to be drawn into the conversation. A nurse says that she is still in shock at the attack.

The Aided Higher Secondary School Headmasters’ Association plans to hold a demonstration in front of the Vellore collector’s office on Wednesday. Rathnavel says that public support is with Babu, which is why the school’s PTA has demanded protection for faculty. “In a changing culture where students have been given too much freedom, any move to discipline students results in immediate retaliation, as youngsters do not stop to think about the consequences of their actions,” Rathnavel says.