Students made to clean school toilets for poll booths, parents protest

DHANBAD: Students of classes 3 and 4 were forced to clean school toilets for assembly election booths in Upgraded Dumaria High School Nirsa in Dhanbad district.

The incident happened three days before election on December 14.

In protest, guardians have stopped sending their wards to school, demanding immediate transfer of the principal. The students claimed that they were compelled to clean the toilets by a teacher.

After getting information next day, irate guardians of these students reached the school and protested over the incident. Since principal and the school committee president tendered apology instantly and the guardians returned home but have stopped sending the students to the school since.

“We sent our children for study in school but teachers and principal made them clean toilets. So we will not send students till the education department takes action against them,” said Samir Das, one of the students’ father and other parents — Sanjay Das and Rajesh Das — echoed his decision.

The school falls under Nirsa assembly constituency of Dhanbad where polls held in the fourth phase on December 16. Booth no. 27 and 28 were set up in Upgraded Dumaria High School in Nirsa.

“The school committee president, Viswanath Bauri, has been sacked. I am shocked and sad that this incident took place. I had asked him to get toilets cleaned from his own level but he got it done by the students,” said Kirtan Chandra Das, principal, Upgraded Dumaria High School.

Alka Jaiswal, district education officer (DEO), when contacted on Wednesday said he has sought detail reports and would take departmental action against whoever found guilty in this work.

Guardians of students held meeting under Dumaria Panchayat chief Gopal Das on Tuesday and resolved to stop sending their kids to the school till the principal is transferred from the institution. They alleged that since the principal is local, he “tortures students on different pretexts”.

The school has over 400 students. Since booths had to be set up on the campus for December 16 poll, it is alleged that the school committee president and principal forced eight junior students — Nisha Das, Puja Das, Poonam Das, Kiran Das, Vikky Mahto, Sauvik Dubey, Manish Das and Rohit Kumar to clean the toilets.