The English-medium private school, where a young male student was subjected to heart-breaking humiliation for speaking Urdu, Monday said the teacher who took the said step was no longer part of the faculty and her resignation had been accepted.
Last week, a video of a father sharing the embarrassment his child withstood at the school on January 27, located in Karachi’s North Nazimabad society, for speaking in Urdu went viral.
The language-shaming incident touched hosts of hearts and drew massive support from social media along with a myriad of heated condemnations against the school, its administration, and the teacher responsible for the act.
The father also shared the self-esteem-crushing details of the incident, alleging that to make him an example his son’s face was stained with black ink as punishment for speaking in his national language.
He also alleged that said that his son was mocked in front of other children, who were encouraged to laugh at him, adding that the management said it could do nothing about it when approached.
However, a statement issued by the school’s board said that the incident was in complete contravention of the school’s ethos, ideology, philosophy and spirit.
“Our school takes great pride in being one the few educational institutions that promote, encourage, and celebrate Urdu. Its role in promoting Urdu is unmatched in the country,” said Sibtain Naqvi, a member of the school board, in a video statement.
“In the last few years, the school has organised four mushairas (poetic symposium) and poets such as Iftikhar Arif, Fehmida Riaz, and Amjad Islam Amjad have read their poetry to thousands-stong audiences in thousands, which included out students, faculty, staff, guests, and members of the media. The coverage of these events is publicly available,” Naqvi added.
The school does not promote English over Urdu, adding that it is a considerate and empathetic institution that does not condone or allow anyone to embarrass a student, the board member speaking on behalf of the school said.
“The faculty and staff are fully trained and ever-ready to embrace diversity and a multilingual environment,” it said.