Faith in schools shaken: Kamal Haasan says PSSB should have acted faster, asks TN govt for special committee

Actor turned politician Kamal Haasan said that he is still scared about the safety of his daughters and that the virtual shift society has taken has made matters even worse. Commenting on PSBB's sexual harassment case, Kamal said that the fact that the school did not respond to earlier complaints is deplorable and asked the newly formed TN government to act on it.

The news about a teacher having misbehaved with a student in PSBB Senior Secondary School is very distressing, said the Makkal Needhi Maiam founder. "The allegation that the complaint was made to the school authorities earlier but they did not act upon it has shaken the faith that people have in school managements. The government should take this complaint very seriously and the management should cooperate fully," he said. "Since then, there have been several complaints of sexual harassment that have been made against several schools in Chennai. The TN Government should set up a special committee and deal with these complaints on a war footing," added the actor.

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As a father of two women, Kamal said that the fears that he felt about the protection of a girl child have manifested themselves in his movie Mahanathi, made 27 years ago. "That fear has not reduced even today. When children use online tools for a virtual class, parents have to monitor their activity very carefully. They have to listen to their fears and handle them with care," said Kamal.

Since the issue has come up many have been commenting on how the school allegedly is by structure brahminical and oppressive. "I have been seeing a lot of groups using this issue for their political, casteist gains and misleading people. If we don't talk about the crime and the seriousness of it and divert it, then it will work to the advantage of the perpetrator. The perpetrators must be punished regardless of what caste they belong to. We have to act as an enlightened society in our pursuit of justice," he added.