NEW DELHI: A committee probing the unethical physical examination of students of prestigious Sardar Patel Vidyalaya is set to recommend cancellation of licences of the doctors involved, besides suggesting steps to ensure such incidents are not repeated.

The committee, set up by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has said that the doctors who violated the privacy of students in collecting data about adolescent growth, did so for three Fs — funds, fame and foreign trips. "From the investigations, it is clear that the doctors were collecting data for commercial purposes and it had no link with the school health scheme," advocate Ashok Aggarwal, one of the two members of the panel, told media persons. NCPCR member Sandhya Bajaj was other member of the probe team.

Aggarwal said the doctors had "embarrassed, harassed and traumatised" the children. Girls were forced to give details of their innerwear size despite the reluctance of many of them, he added.

"Some of this data is so private that its disclosure could cause problems to the student in his or her personal life. The doctors had no business asking such personal questions for commercial purposes," he said.

The committee was set up after public outrage over the medical examination. On July 17 and 18, students from classes VI to X were made to strip and their genitals touched by doctors who were conducting the survey on behalf of Dr K N Aggarwal, the 71-year-old head of the paediatrics department of a private hospital in Noida.

The doctor later claimed that such tests were necessary to detect hernia and hydrocele in children.

The panel may also recommend banning physical examination of adolescent students in schools. For students up to class VI, it will suggest that a school ethics committees be set up to determine whether medical examination of these children is desirable.

The committee also felt that no medical examination should take place without the consent of students and their parents. If such examination is allowed, it should be conducted under the supervision of responsible teachers and representative parents.