UP students stage 5-hour protest over drinking water, toilets; classes resume after school's assurance

A few days after the CJP-led students protest in Delhi pressured the government and compelled the union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to step down from his post, hundreds of Class 6 to 12 students in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh organised a sit-in against their school administration, demanding safe drinking water, function fans, clean toilers, and library, PTI reported.

The five-hour demonstration at the Sarvodaya Inter College in Kishanpur began at 7 am, with students holding placards and portraits of Dr BR Ambedkar against the backdrop of the national flag, the report said.

Soon after videos of the protest went viral, with many social media users calling the students “Gen Alpha”, the school administration assured them that corrective measures would begin within 24 hours, it added.

“The students claimed the school lacked safe drinking water, clean toilets, reliable electricity, functional fans, adequate furniture, a computer lab, library and sports facilities. They also alleged that some ceiling fans were unsafe and had caused electric shocks to students,” the report read.

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We don't have sufficient funds to provide all facilities immediately: School admin

The students alleged that there were repeated complaints regarding lack of infrastructure, unauthorised money collection during admissions and demanding payments for issuing marksheets, other documents, which were unheard of for months, the report said.

The protest disrupted school activities, which led Lal Bahadur Singh, principal, and Manish Singh, station house officer (Kishanpur) to persuade the students to end the agitation, but they remained firm on their demands, it added.

Furthermore, the protest came to an end around noon after the district Inspector of Schools (DIOS) Rakesh Kumar held talks with the students and gave them written assurance that work on the pending issues would begin within 24 hours, it said in the report.

In addition, the administration had to close the school for the rest of the day and principal Lal Bahadur Singh said: “They would make efforts to improve facilities within the available resources. We do not have sufficient funds to provide all the facilities immediately,” the report said.

Kumar said in the report that arrangements for safe drinking water, seating, clean toilets, regular sanitation, a computer laboratory, library and sports facilities would be initiated without delay.