The students have already appeared in examination of two papers in this fashion after acting principal Meena Pokharel padlocked 19 classrooms just a day after the exam schedule was published, following a dispute over the appointment.
Pokharel ordered lockout of classrooms till November 27 after the schedule for half-yearly exams, starting from November 20, were published. Another contender for the post of principal Hari Narayan Yadav, on the other hand, has put pressure on the students, saying that the exams would be held as scheduled.
“Miss (Pokharel) put up a notice asking us to come only from November 27 but Yadav sir insisted that we must come,” Monika Sah, a fourth grader, told myrepublica.com. Yadav said Pokharel locked the classes to disrupt the exams.
“We have great problem in giving exams in this way. Our feet get swollen and we feel pain in the night after writing for three hours sitting on the floor,” complained Karishma Poudel of class IX.
The Yadav group has continued the exams by raising Rs 30 each from students of class IX and X. They have kept question papers and answer sheets in a room near the school premises and have been handing over the answer sheets to the subject teacher immediately after the completion of the exam. “The teachers have been taking the answer sheets to their respective homes for marking,” said Yadav.
The school established by Tarani Prasad Koirala, the brother of BP and Girija Prasad Koirala, has been suffering since July 4 due to the face-off between Pokharel and Yadav. This is the first time the students were forced to appear in exams in this fashion in its 59-year-old history.
The management committee, which was dissolved three years ago, had appointed Pokharel as acting principal after Beena Koirala retired. Yadav has been opposing the move, saying the then committee led by Ramkrishna Baral had illegally appointed Pokharel and has also submitted his candidature to the District Education Office (DEO).
The dispute worsened after the DEO extended Pokharel´s term by another three months. Yadav claimed that half of the 14 teachers and majority of students are in his favor. “The students had even shut down the school for 25 days a few years ago for me,” said Yadav who has been teaching at the school for 32 years. “The students even want to break the lock and conduct exams,” added Yadav.
The DEO has blocked the school´s bank account after the dispute turned nastier.
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