Ambikapur: More than 100 girl students of a government-run residential school in Chhattisgarh's Surguja on Monday marched nearly 20 km towards the district headquarters to meet the collector and complain
about basic amenities at the facility and teaching issues, officials said.
A bus was eventually arranged about 10 km from Ambikapur, the district headquarters, to take the students to their destination, where they met Surguja Collector Ajeet Vasant and apprised him of their grievances.
The students of classes 10th to 12th at Eklavya Model Residential School in Shivpur village under Batouli block began walking towards Ambikapur, 30 kilometres away, alleging that their complaints about the facility had not been addressed despite repeated requests.
As information about their march reached the administration, officials were sent to meet the students on the way and persuade them to return.
However, the students insisted on meeting the collector and continued their march, following which a bus was eventually arranged to take the students to the district collectorate, the officials said.
"The students mainly raised three issues. They said electricity supply at the school has been disrupted for the past one month. There are two DG (diesel generator) sets, but they are used only in emergencies and provide electricity for only three to four hours," Vasant told reporters after meeting the students.
The students complained that Physics and Chemistry teachers were not teaching properly and also raised concerns over the quality of food and lack of cleanliness at the school, he said.
Vasant said directions had been issued to the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) to resolve the electricity problem.
"Teachers in Eklavya schools are appointed by the government. Guest teachers have also been appointed as an alternative, but the students said they were not teaching properly. Directions have been issued to address this issue as well," he said.
Directions have been given to address cleanliness and other basic issues at the school, the collector said.
Vasant said the students had informed the school principal about their problems but the local administration had not received any information about the grievances.
"If we had received information through any channel, the issues could have been resolved," he said.
Vasant directed the Assistant Commissioner of Tribal Development Department to ensure necessary facilities at the school and to take steps so that students do not face any inconvenience.
A three-member inquiry team comprising Joint Collector Sharda Agrawal, Sitapur Sub-Divisional Magistrate Phagesh Sinha and Assistant Director of the Tribal Development Department Kiran Rajput was constituted to investigate the complaints, officials said.
The team has been directed to visit the school and submit its report to the collector within two days, while nodal officers appointed for ashram hostels have also been instructed to inspect all hostels within a week and submit reports, they said.
One of the students fainted after meeting the collector and was taken to a hospital in an ambulance. Her condition was stated to be normal, officials said.
Congress leader and former state minister Amarjeet Bhagat said funds are being allocated for students in tribal areas but they were not benefiting due to negligence by officials of the concerned department.
The administration should take this issue seriously, he said.
State Congress chief spokesperson Dhananjay Singh Thakur said the poor condition of tribal hostels and residential schools in the state has exposed the BJP government's claims of being pro-tribal.
He alleged that while the BJP government makes tall claims about tribal development, it has failed to provide tribal children with proper food, security, teachers and safe buildings at their hostels, and even scholarships were not being paid in full.
What could be more shameful than this, he questioned.
"Earlier, students of the Eklavya residential school in Chhuri in Korba district had been forced to take to the streets for the third time in a month. Similarly, girl students of Bhuneshwarpur hostel in Surajpur district had to sit on a highway demanding proper food and security," Thakur claimed.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
