- More than 40 students protested at a district official's office over poor school facilities in Bihar's Gaya
- Students complained about bad midday meals, broken hand pumps, dirty toilets, and no sports gear
- District official Praveen Kundan told school to fix issues within four days and launched an official probe
More than 40 students at a school in Bihar's Gaya district walked to a sub-divisional magistrate's office, alleging a prolonged lack of basic facilities in their school and seeking intervention from the administration.
Carrying a memorandum and raising slogans, the students reached the SDM's office in Gaya's Tikari and demanded action on complaints ranging from poor-quality midday meals and dysfunctional drinking water facilities to unclean toilets and a lack of sports equipment.
The protest briefly led to chaotic scenes at the office, with officials finding themselves face-to-face with a group of schoolchildren pressing for administrative action.
"We have been raising these issues for a long time, but nothing has changed," a student said. "The hand pump does not work properly; the toilets are dirty and there is a problem with basic facilities in the school."
Another student said the children decided to approach the administration only after repeated complaints failed to produce results.
"We study here every day. We need clean toilets, drinking water and proper food. We came to the SDM office because nobody was listening to us," the student said.
When the students arrived, SDM Praveen Kundan was away on official visit. Executive Magistrate Ranjit Kumar Singh was then sent to hear their grievances, but the students insisted on meeting the SDM personally.
According to officials, the students waited at the office until Kundan returned from Guraru, 41 km from Tikari. After reaching the office, he met the students and heard their complaints in detail. During the interaction, the students alleged the quality of the midday meal served at the school was poor and that basic sanitation facilities remained inadequate.
"The food we get is often not good. We have complained about it before," a student told the SDM, according to officials present during the meeting.
Others flagged problems related to water supply and maintenance. "The hand pump is not working properly and there is difficulty getting drinking water. The toilets are not cleaned regularly. It becomes difficult for us during school hours," another student said.
According to the students' memorandum, repeated complaints at the school level had failed to resolve the issues. "We had informed teachers and school authorities several times. Since there was no improvement, we decided to come here and submit our complaint."
Taking note of the grievances, Kundan directed the school administration to address the issues within four days. He said the complaints raised by the students were and instructions were issued to the headmaster to resolve all the deficiencies within four days, adding an inquiry would also be conducted into the allegations made by the students.
"A three-member committee has been formed to verify the complaints submitted by the students. The team will conduct an inquiry and submit its report. Further action will be taken based on the findings," the SDM said.
The committee comprises Executive Magistrate Ranjit Kumar Singh, Tikari Block Development Officer Yogendra Paswan and district official Chandan Kumar. It will examine every point mentioned in the complaint and if any irregularities are found, action would be taken.
