Team Goemkarponn
OLD GOA: A government-aided high school teacher, Clancy D’Silva, who has been booked by Old Goa police for allegedly assaulting and verbally abusing several Class IX students, has filed for anticipatory bail. The court is scheduled to hear his plea on Monday, July 7.
According to police, the case was registered after parents complained that the teacher had physically assaulted students over a minor issue. While most of the children reportedly suffered minor injuries, four students had to be referred to Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) for further treatment, a parent said. Police confirmed that D’Silva was brought to the police station and questioned on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Bailancho Ekvott (BE), a prominent women’s rights organization based in Margao, has strongly condemned the alleged assault of 11 students at a reputed St Estevam school. In formal letters to the Education Department and Old Goa Police, the group demanded strict punitive measures against the teacher for physically and verbally abusing students in the absence of their regular class teacher.
BE president Auda Viegas called the incident a “heinous crime” committed by someone entrusted with educating children. She emphasized that corporal punishment is illegal and outdated, warning that both physical and verbal abuse can cause long-term harm. Viegas also questioned why the class had been left unsupervised, suggesting broader systemic negligence played a role.
She further called for reforms in teacher recruitment, highlighting the need for psychological assessments to ensure teachers are suitable for the profession. “Some teachers may have secured their jobs through influence despite lacking basic classroom management skills,” she alleged. The group also criticized the common practice of simply transferring problematic teachers instead of disciplining them, arguing that such measures only allow the cycle of abuse to continue.
