A six-year-old pupil died in a school in India after his teacher slapped him over homework.

The incident happened at Little Garden School in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

The pupil was identified as Pranay Teja.

Reactions trailed a viral video on social media showing how the little boy collapsed a few seconds after he was slapped by his teacher.

The pupil’s father, Mr Teja, told NDTV, “When we checked the CCTV footage at the school, it showed that the teacher scared him. She hit him with a stick, and due to shock and fear, he collapsed right there.”

He said that his son had no health issue before leaving home, adding “No issues at all. He was playing happily last night and woke up fine this morning. He didn’t have any viral fever or any other health problems.”

Indian minister of education, Nara Lokesh,  in a post on social media, expressed sadness over the incident, maintaining that corporal punishment has no place in schools.

Mr Lokesh said, “As a father, I can’t get over what happened to little Pranay Tej. I cannot imagine the pain his parents are going through. Corporal punishment has no place in our schools. No child should ever be subjected to violence in the name of discipline.” 

He added, “I have already directed a full investigation and strict action against anyone found responsible. My heart goes out to Pranay’s family in this moment of unimaginable grief.”