More than 100 Class 10 students at Jhapmali Deshbandhu High School in Bankura’s Mejia block locked the school’s main gate on Thursday, protesting that they had not received bicycles promised under the state’s cycle distribution scheme when they were in Class 9 last year, according to a report by Anandabazar.
The students’ protest prevented teachers from entering the school, the report said. The affected students are now in Class 10 and claim that repeated requests by them and their parents to the school authorities did not result in the bicycles being distributed.
The students were reportedly supposed to receive bicycles under the Sabuj Sathi scheme last year, when they were in Class 9. While students at other schools received bicycles, the students of Jhapmali Deshbandhu High School allegedly remained excluded from the distribution.
The students said they were repeatedly assured that the bicycles would be provided later. They alleged that school authorities cited different reasons for the delay, including elections and administrative complications. The report said students and parents also approached the school authorities several times about the issue.
The scheme has since been renamed under the new state government. Class 9 students at the Bankura school received bicycles this year under the Sarathi scheme, but the students who are now in Class 10 did not, according to the report. The delay has therefore created a gap between the year in which the students were eligible and the current distribution cycle.
Ankita Nandi, a Class 10 student, said the students had applied repeatedly for a year and had also submitted a written application to the block development officer. She said the students would continue their protest until all Class 10 students received bicycles. Her statement was quoted in the report.
The school’s acting head teacher declined to comment on the matter, Anandabazar reported. Assistant teacher Utpal Malik said the acting head teacher had repeatedly approached the block administration and the education department regarding the students’ bicycles.
According to Malik, the authorities had repeatedly assured the school that the bicycles would be supplied but had not provided a date for distribution. He said this was why the bicycles could not be given to the students under the Sabuj Sathi scheme last year.
The report did not provide a response from the block administration or the education department on the students’ allegations, nor did it specify a confirmed date for delivery of the pending bicycles.
