Belaben Patel, posted at the school at Brahmanvasi village in Padra taluka, was arrested after the guardian of one of the students lodged a complaint on Saturday last, they told PTI by phone.
It has been alleged the teacher beat up the students of Class V on Friday after they raised their voice for not being served mid day meal, a mandatory provision in government-run primary schools.
These students complained to Raju Parmar, Chairman of School Management Committee which supervises implementation of the meal scheme, police said.
Parmar took up the matter with the school principal and asked to ensure distribution of sufficient quantity of meal to all students.
This allegedly irritated Patel, who herded the 47 students who had approached Parmar into a classroom and caned them. Two dozen students suffered injuries due to the beating and they were treated at a hospital in Padra, police said.
Patel has been suspended.
Local villagers have demanded transfer of all the seven teachers posted at the school and threatened to launch an agitation if their demand was not met.