Baripada: Over 200 students of Ekalavya Model Residential School in Bangiriposi town in Mayurbhanj district are upset over multiple problems plaguing their education and the functioning of the institution for the last few years. To protest against administrative apathy, the students decided Tuesday to walk to Baripada to meet District Collector Vineet Bhardwaj and update him on the problems they face. It should be stated here that Bangiriposi is 40 kilometres away from the district headquarters at Baripada. Within minutes of starting their protest march, some officials of the block administration tried to convince the students to return.
However, they refused to do so. Finally, after walking for six kilometres, they stopped at the block office. However, they warned of continuing their agitation if their problems are not looked into quickly. The students who belong to Classes-VIII, IX and Plus-II alleged that posts of physics and chemistry teachers are lying vacant for a long time for which their studies have been affected. “We face a lot of difficulties in our regular and practical classes. Also, the quality of food at the hostel is sub-standard. We have been complaining to the school authorities for many years now but to no avail. We want an immediate appointment of teachers as our future is at stake,” the angry students said.
On being informed, project administrator of ITDA Basant Sethi, district welfare officer Sunaram Singh, BDO Satyaban Nayak, additional tehsildar Saibram Baske, SDPO KK Hariprasad and Jharpokharia IIC Phanindra Bhusan reached the spot. They tried to convince the angry students to refrain from such agitations in future. The officials assured the students that their problems will be solved soon. The agitating students also wanted to talk to Bhardwaj over video-conferencing to apprise him of their problems. However, it did not materialise.