Nemom daycare incident: Two teachers fired by school, others warned

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Stringent action was taken against the daycare staff after a two-year-old walked 1.5 kilometres to his home from the school without anyone noticing. Preschool teachers Shana and Rinu of the English medium school under the Sowerhill Lutheran Church were fired.

Another teacher Shruti and employee Indulekha were warned. The parents of the child, who were satisfied with the action, informed the authorities that they would not go further demanding action.

At the same time, the family stated that they would cooperate with the police, child welfare committee and child line agencies if called for enquiry.

Ankit Sudheesh, the son of the couple Sudheesh and Archana, reached his home alone at 2 pm on Monday. He walked from his daycare after slipping away from the staff's notice. Sudheesh’s mother was the only one present at home at that time. In pure shock, the mother immediately informed Sudheesh and Archana about the incident. Archana, who is a pharmacist in a private hospital, came home and checked the CCTV of the nearby house and found out that the child had walked alone from the daycare.

A complaint was lodged immediately with Nemom police. The principal of the school, Fr. Robin, was called to the police station. On the day of the incident, Shana, Rinu and Indulekha had gone to attend a wedding in the nearby area. Shruthi was the only one on duty during the day. The principal reasoned the dearth of staff to have caused the shocking incident.

But Archana and Sudheesh insisted that action should be taken against the culprits. With this, the school authorities promised to conduct a PTA meeting. However, the meeting did not take place on Tuesday. Following the information from the family members, the officials of the Child Welfare Committee and ChildLine came to the house on Tuesday to collect information.

A PTA meeting was held on Wednesday, and most parents voiced in favour of the staff members and opined that there need not be any harsh punishment. The school principal also stood with the PTA decision. However, late into Wednesday night, the principal reached Ankit’s house and informed the family about the strict action taken.