Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan (PSBB) School, a prestigious educational institution in KK Nagar, Chennai, has come under fire after a male teacher attached to the school has been accused of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour against the girl students. The accused teacher had been working in the school for two decades and the issue has come to the light after some of the former students had scathingly written to the Dean of the School about his awful behaviour. 

PSBB is founded by Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy, popularly known as Mrs YGP. Veteran actor YG Mahendran, who is the son of YGP, is a trustee of the PSBB Board and the educational institution has branches in KK Nagar, Nungambakkam, and Gerugambakkam. The accused teacher was working in KK Nagar's branch. The allegations against the school were rampantly spread across the state, drawing attention from the school education department of the Tamil Nadu government. 

After the allegations had come to the light, Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi has assured a proper inquiry into the charges of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour of a male teacher of the school. The minister has added that the school has been asked to explain the charges levied on the teacher. According to reports, some of the alumni of the school had petitioned the school management about the sexual misconduct and obscene actions from the teacher. 

It had further shocked the state when some of the former students had shared the petition on social media. The alumni of the school had sent a scathing letter detailing instances of inappropriate behaviour against Rajagopal, the accused teacher who had been working at the school for twenty years. Rajagopal was teaching accounts and business studies and in the letter to Sheela Rajendra, the Dean of the School, the former students had complained that the accused teacher had regularly harassed girl students, sent links to the porn sites, asked embarrassing questions, and body shamed them. 

In their letter, the alumni had highlighted that when the parents of the affected students had complained to the school management that Rajagopal had inappropriately touched their children with sexual intent, the management had not taken any action against the accused teacher. The alumni had said that Rajagopal was also in charge of different classes through which he got access to students' mobile numbers and he used this access to send sexual comments and inappropriate links. 

Rajagopal would also appear topless during online classes. The alumni had slammed the management for not directing actions against the accused teacher despite moving several complaints against him. The alumni had urged that Rajagopal should not be involved in any kind of academic activities including grading of test or exam papers. 

Demanding a fair and transparent probe from the child protection committee and action against the teacher, the alumni had asked the management to ensure that no adverse, penal, or retaliatory action be taken against the students who have raised the complaints. The allegation against a teacher had heavily shaken the reputation of the school with several social media users demanding answers from YG Mahendran, the trustee of the PSBB board. 

As the outrage has escalated against the school, the management has on Monday suspended Rajagopal following the allegations. The management had however put out a statement to give itself a clean shit. In a statement, Dean Sheela Rajendra claimed that contrary to what is mentioned in the allegations have not been brought to the attention of the management in the past. She assured that the school would take all necessary steps to address issues in a free, fair, and transparent manner. 

She further asserted that the school had zero tolerance towards any behaviour that affected the physical, emotional, and psychological wellbeing of its students. She added that the school management has taken suo motu action on the basis of the social media posts. PSBB is a popular school in Chennai affiliated with CBSE. Several notable figures including Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman, Anirudh, GV Prakash, Saindavi, Harini, and Harish Raghavendra are alumni of the school.