A woman teacher at a private school was fired for punishing a young student by staining his face with black ink when the boy used the Urdu language at the school premises.

The father of the schoolboy had made a video of his child leaving the school with a blot on his right cheek. He posted the video to social media causing an outcry last week.

Sindh Education and Culture Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah took notice of the incident and ordered an inquiry. Department of Education reportedly imposed a fine of Rs100,000.

In the video that went viral, the boy father narrated the details of the incident saying that his son was ridiculed by the teacher, who also encouraged his peers to berate him for using the national language at the school premises where, the man implied, pupils were required to communicate only in the English language.

The school has refuted the claim that it “promotes English over Urdu.”

The man claimed that when he took the issue with the management of the school he was told that they could do nothing in the matter.

After the video went viral, the Directorate of Private Institutions Sindh sought a response from the private school and formed a five-member committee to investigate the matter on Saturday.

Statements of the school principal and parents were recorded by the committee.

School’s response

The Civilizations Public School missed a statement in reaction to the viral video and said that it “takes great pride in being one the few educational institutions to promote, encourage and celebrate Urdu.”

The school said it had hosted four mushairas in the last few years.

“The school in no way promotes English over Urdu. The regrettable incident that took place on January 27 is against the school’s ethos, ideology, philosophy and spirit. We are a considerate and empathetic institution that does not condone or allow anyone to embarrass a student,” the statement said.

“The teacher who took the wrong step is no longer part of the school and her resignation has been accepted,” it said without referring to the reports that its registration had been revoked or it was facing a fine.