Madhya Pradesh: 300 Eklavya school students scale hostel wall, march to meet collector over food quality

HARDA: Upset over alleged poor food quality and other arrangements, over 300 students of a government residential school in Madhya Pradesh’s Harda district climbed their hostel wall on Saturday and set out on foot to meet the collector, officials said. They said the students from Eklavya Adarsh Aawasiya Vidyalaya in Rahatgaon, braving the biting cold in the morning, began walking towards the collectorate, located around 40 kilometres away, to raise their grievances.

After the students had walked nearly eight to nine kilometres, Collector Siddharth Jain met them on the national highway at Sodalpur. He promised to resolve the students’ problems and sent them back to the school in buses, officials said.

The students alleged that the school had been facing a lack of basic facilities, the quality of food was poor, and the sanitation conditions were deplorable. Eklavya Adarsh Aawasiya Vidyalayas ( Eklavya Model Residential Schools ) are government-run residential schools for Scheduled Tribe students, to provide quality education from Class VI to XII with a focus on their holistic development, according to officials.

The tribal students also claimed that when complaints were made in this regard, the hostel principal subjected them to mental harassment. A student told reporters that they were forced to take this step since no action was taken despite their complaints. During their interaction with the collector, the students demanded the removal of the principal. Collector Jain assured the students that a parents’ committee would be formed to check food quality.

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Contact committee will be set up

He said a ‘contact committee’ would also be set up for quick redressal of grievances, enabling the students to directly approach the collector or officials of the tribal affairs department. Talking to reporters, Jain said complaints against the principal had surfaced.

He said, “Considering the children’s problems, I reached the spot. For now, the students have been persuaded to return. The matter will be investigated, and necessary action will be taken.” Local Congress MLA Abhijeet Shah visited the hostel and told the media that several shortcomings were found in food items stored in the kitchen. He claimed that when the drinking water tank was checked, tree roots were found inside it. He also shared a clip of it with ‘PTI Videos’ and demanded a probe into the incident.

Under the state’s tribal affairs department, the Madhya Pradesh Special and Academic Society operates 63 Eklavya Model Residential Schools across the state. Funds are allocated to these schools to ensure facilities and services to students as per the norms prescribed by the National Tribal Students Education Committee, New Delhi, under the Government of India.