CHENNAI, India — The suicide of a 13-year-old schoolboy suggests there is something grossly wrong with a society and its education system. Rouvanjit Rawla, a student of class 8 at one of India's most prestigious schools, La Martiniere, in Kolkata, killed himself after the principal caned him. The tragedy underscores the fast- deteriorating student-teacher relationship in India. The number of cases of teacher brutality has risen alarmingly in recent years.

A 12-year-old boy lost part of his vision when his master threw a duster at him in New Delhi. A class 10 student committed suicide in Chennai after his teacher stripped and thrashed him. In Udaipur, a class 12 boy died after being beaten for sitting with his legs on the table. An 11-year-old student died of sunstroke after being made to stand on the school grounds during a summer day in New Delhi.

On the other end of the spectrum are boys and even girls who harass and disgrace their teachers. For example, a chemistry teacher had a trying time writing on a blackboard while 60 adolescent boys darted paper rockets at him.