Visually-impaired students take to streets against agitating teachers

Published On: August 12, 2017 08:22 AM NPT By: Rohit Rai

DHARAN, Aug 11: Visually-impaired students of Purvanchal Gyan Chakshu Vidyalaya (PGCV) have staged a protest against six agitating teachers of the school, accusing them of playing with their future.

The students are irked at the teachers who have been padlocking the school with the help of some youths affiliated to various student unions. They have also accused the teachers of politicizing education. Since August 4, six teachers of the school have been staging an agitation against the school authority, demanding the resignation of Principal Keshari Thapa. Meanwhile, a few youths associated with Nepal Student Union (NSU) and Nepal Tarun Dal (NTD) - the student and youth wings of Nepali Congress - have been padlocking the school administration room.

The teachers claim that Principal Thapa has been misbehaving with them as well as the students. However, many students have stated that the accusations against Principal Thapa are completely baseless. On Friday, the students organized a rally holding placards and chanting slogans against the teachers. They demanded the resignation of the teachers “who are putting the future of the students at stake.” They have also demanded that new teachers be appointed.

"The teachers haven't been regular since the beginning of the new fiscal year, affectring our education," said Amardip Rai, a grade 10 student of PGCV, adding, "They have been playing with our future."

Gagan Ale Magar, an eighth grader of PGCV, says youths of NSU and NTD have been padlocking the school administration in the name of the students without understanding the whole matter. "We want teachers not politicians," he said.

On Tuesday, some students were threatened by the youths of NSU and NTD when they tried to stop them from padlocking their school. "They have been putting baseless allegations on our principal. She is our guardian," said Rabin Gimi, a student of the same school.

Parkash Karki, Tulsi Timsina, Sushila Thapa, Dolma Yonjan, Bidhya Shakya and Sita Karki are among the agitating teachers. This school was considered an example in the whole country due to the physical infrastructures and quality of education.