Underlining the stagnant prejudiced and discriminatory outlook over the marginalised, about 47 girl students of a minority school in Indore have been allegedly made to sit separately outside the classrooms during the board examination; the reason being their religion.
Discrimination on students
As wide protests started to unearth, the district administration denied the accusation stating that the decision was taken by the authorities over the girls as they hailed from Covid containment zones.
The incident was reported from Bengali High School in Navlakha, Indore when the parents and guardians of the students in Class XII of another school accused the former management of not allowing these students to enter its classrooms. The students were then made to sit on the verandahs and write their board exams.
Bhopal MLA Arif Masood wrote a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking immediate action in the matter. "If divisions of hatred are created in places that should teach lessons of communal amity, it is difficult to say where that would take the state to," Masood said in the letter.
According to the reports, students of Islamia Karimia School in Indore had their class XII exam center at the Bengali High School. But the students were not permitted to enter the classrooms which led to a commotion between the school management and parents. Following this, the management allowed the girls to write exams sitting on the verandah.
Video goes viral
Although the authorities try to wash their hands off the alleged act, a video taken by one of the parents during the incident has soon turned viral in social media.
The video shows parents protesting for their children. "Why are you making them sit outside? Make them sit inside according to their roll numbers," shouted a parent.
While the school gives Covid-19 and the containment zones as their justification, several students from other containment zones and red zones have been allowed to enter the main exam halls.
The MLA has also urged the chief minister to cancel the school's recognition while taking strict action on the district education officer and school management. This should be a warning and reminder for other schools and institutions so that similar incidents are not repeated in the future, he added.
