Unit-IX Govt Girls' High School students stage dharna against school merger in Bhubaneswar
On Monday, students and guardians from Unit-IX Govt Girls' High School in Odisha capital staged a dharna by locking the school's main gate in protest of its proposed merger with the nearby Government Boys' High School.
user1
Bhubaneswar: On Monday, students and guardians from Unit-IX Govt Girls' High School in Odisha capital staged a dharna by locking the school's main gate in protest of its proposed merger with the nearby Government Boys' High School.
According to sources, some students passed out during the protest.
The announcement came just two days after the state government decided to merge classes from VI to X in the 57-year-old school with the boys' school at Unit IX in order to make room for Rama Devi Higher Secondary School, formerly Rama Devi Junior College, and separate its infrastructure from the existing Rama Devi Women's University.
"This school was founded in 1967 and is regarded as one of the best in the city." People from Tankapani, Balianta, and Barang send their daughters to this school knowing that their children will be safe and receive a high-quality education. The teachers are excellent here. "We had previously objected to this proposal, and then Education Minister Samir Dash assured us that the school would continue to operate and the land behind it would be allotted to the varsity," a parent said.
The agitators also stated that they have no objections to the establishment of Rama Devi Higher Secondary School in this location, but that the existing school should not be disrupted.
They have also threatened to take to the streets if the government proceeds with the merger proposal.
Suresh Routray, the Congress leader, also joined the protest to express his solidarity with the students, who later withdrew their protest after the BEO assured them that she would convey their concerns to the appropriate authorities.
Notably, the varsity authorities have insisted on separating the infrastructure of Rama Devi Women's Higher Secondary School because classes for approximately 2,400 students are only held for three hours per day from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. due to insufficient classrooms or galleries, which has negatively impacted the quality of education at the premier institution.
On June 27, a team of Higher Secondary School faculty members visited the school and decided that the arts and commerce streams could be shifted if the wall between two rooms in each block is removed to accommodate a section of 128 students.
This decision to relocate the girls' high school had already been delayed for a few months due to protests from parents, students, and locals.
