Lahore:
A schoolteacher allegedly blackened the faces of five of her girl students in a school in Pakistan's Punjab province for not buying textbooks from her husband's stationery store.
The incident occurred yesterday in Toba Tek Singh town, 100 kilometres from Lahore.
In a written complaint to the district education officer, the families of the girls said that Shahida Parveen, a teacher of Sethanwala Government Girls Community Model School, had darkened the faces of Laibah, Alia, Natasha, Rimsha and Alesha, all Class IV students.
The complaint said that the teacher had acted against the girls for not purchasing textbooks from her husband's store. It further alleged that the teacher had tortured the girls.
Earlier, the teacher forced each student to cough up Rs 200, the complaint stated.
The education department has ordered a probe into this incident and appointed Deputy District Education Officer Bushra Ishaq to conduct an inquiry. "We will take strict action if the teacher is found guilty," Bushra Ishaq said.