Catholic officials in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have accused the media of trying to tarnish Church-run institutions after a school was accused of forcing about 80 teenage girls to return home in their blazers without shirts. Media reports accused Carmel School in Digwadih city, Dhanbad district, of confiscating the shirts of the tenth-grade girls on Jan. 9 as they celebrated Pen Day, the final school day before board exams. They were supposedly taken from the girls because they were writing messages on each other’s shirts to mark the end of their academic year. The Sisters of the Apostolic Carmel congre-gation, which runs the school, denied the media reports.
Sister Maria Kirti, Councillor for Edu-cation of the congregation’s Northern Province, said an initial inquiry showed that the students were “wearing an extra shirt over their school uniform on which they were writing the messages.” “At the time of dismissal, the students were only requested to return [home] in their original uniform,” Kirti said in a statement on Jan. 13. The media reports said the school principal disapproved of the celebration and told them to remove their shirts autographed by friends to create lasting memories. Social media videos reportedly showed the girls in tears as the school authorities ignored their repeated pleas to keep the shirts, sparking a public outcry. The nun blamed a section of the media for publishing unverified and inaccurate reports that “do not fully reflect the facts” that triggered a public uproar and maligned the image of the reputed school. She said her religious order had asked the school to conduct an internal inquiry to ascertain the facts and recommend corrective measures. She said the school principal has been ordered to “stay away from all administrative responsibilities” until the inquiry is completed. Meanwhile, on Jan. 12, the parents of the students filed a complaint with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, prompting an official investigation.