Chandigarh, July 24 (IANS): A teacher in a government-run school here has been dismissed on the charge of putting garlands of shoes around the necks of students, an official said Friday.

"Teachers should be very responsible and should maintain the dignity of this noble profession. We cannot tolerate such kind of behaviour on their part. The accused teacher has been terminated from his services," Education Secretary of Chandigarh Ram Niwas told IANS.

Karamjit Singh, a physical education teacher at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 47, made 11 students of Class 11 run around the school ground Wednesday after putting their own shoes around their necks as garlands.

He did this to teach a lesson to the students who had violated the school dress code, a school official said.

"Karamjit is one of the seniormost teachers of this school. He was immediately asked to go on indefinite leave after this issue came to light but unfortunately this has been blown out of proportion by the media," a senior teacher of the school, requesting anonymity, told IANS.

Following another incident at St. John's High School, one of the oldest and most prestigious boys' schools here, an enquiry into a case of corporal punishment was ordered Thursday.

Punita Singh, mother of a class 3 student, said: "The teacher slapped my son several times on his face as he could not recite the table of seven. She even pulled his hair and told his classmates to laugh at him."

The parents came to know about the incident when the boy suddenly broke down while studying at home.

"A senior officer of the administration has been made an inquiry officer, and she is directed to submit her report at the earliest," said Education Secretary Ram Niwas.