Kumar Rajiv Nayan
Ara : District Programme Officer (DPO), Bhojpur, Om Prakash suspended the Headmaster and a teacher of Middle School, New Policeline, Ara, for now allowing 25 girl students of Kasturba Gandhi Residential School (KGRS) to attend the classes as the school on the ground that they did have their bank accounts. The DPO also stationed Headmaster, Rameshwar Lal, at the office of the Block Education Officer (BEO), Jagdishpur, and the teacher, Anita, at the office of the Block Education Officer (BEO), Koelwar, during their suspension period.
Puja Kumari, Warden, KGRS, said that the school was tagged to the Middle School and the students of the KGRS attend their classes there. She said that 25 new students were admitted to class VI at KGRS and they went to the Middle School for the first time on August 1, 2018, to attend classes but the Headmaster, Middle School, Rameswhwar Lal, turned them out of the school saying that they had no bank account. The HM also shooed the students away when they went to attend the class on August 4, 2018, on the direction of the District Gender Coordinator, Sandhya Kumari, and this time a teacher of the school Anita Kumari thrashed the students and also used unparliamentry words against the staff and the students of the KGRS. As a result, the students were reluctant to go to the school.
The Education Department took strong exeption to the incident. Block Education Officer (BEO) Arun Prakash and District Gender Coordinator, Sandhya Kumari, visited the Middle School and KGRS at New Policeline on August 6, 2018, to inquire into the matter and talked to all the 25 girl students of the KGRS and the teachers of the Middle School in this regard though the Headmaster of the Middle School, Rameshwar Lal was not present at that time.
Bhojpur District Officer (DEO) Surya Narayan said that no one can prevent a student from entering the school and turning him or her out of the classroom merely for not having a bank account. He said that a student may be advised to open his/her bank account as the amounts for dress and scholarship are to be transferred into the bank account of the student.