Sylhet: At least 21 students of a primary school were injured as they were caned by their headmaster in Chhatak upazila of Sunamganj district on Sunday.

Locals said a group of Class-V students of Gobindaganj Model Primary School came out of their classroom at about 12:30pm and started playing at the school ground when headmaster Atikur Rahman was gossiping with other teachers in the office room.

Angered, the headmaster asked the students to go to their classroom and at one stage, he beat them with a stick after closing the door.

The injured students were given first aid at a local dispensary.

On information, school managing committee members rushed in and informed the matter to upazila education officer Manik Chandra Das.

Confessing to beating the students, the headmaster, however, regretted the incident, reports UNB.