While Adivasi and Dalit organisations demand government-level investigation into the alleged incident of 100-odd students at the Model Residential School (MRS) at Pattuvam here having left the school, school authorities and government officials say that the students have gone home citing shortage of drinking water in the school.
Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha (AGM) president C.K. Janu at a press conference here on Monday demanded the probe into the alleged incident, saying that action should be taken against school authorities who were responsible for the alleged ‘exodus’ of over 100 boys studying in the MRS at Pattuvam here run by the Scheduled Caste/Tribe Development Department and funded by the Central government.
They said that the students had left the school and not reached their homes, alleging that the school authorities had continuously refused to provide available facilities in the school to the students, despite the fact that the school was not facing any paucity of funds and lack of administrative support. There were also allegations of acts of retribution against the students in the school who had questioned the authorities’ denial of drinking water and toilet facilities at the school, she said. The students ran away from the ‘prison-like’ atmosphere prevailing in the school, she added.
Ms. Janu also alleged that the major problem in the school was the school officials who were ‘apathetic’ to the Adivasis. The AGM and other Adivasi and Dalit organisations would take up the issue before the Central government and the National Commission for SC-ST.
The school authorities, when contacted, said that the all the boys who had left the school citing shortage of drinking water in the school had reached their homes. When the school authorities had contacted the parents, the latter told that their children had come home saying the school was closed because of drinking water scarcity. All the students who had left the school would return by November 16, the authorities assured.
The MRS, has 400-odd students including high school and higher secondary students. While 70 per cent of the seats are reserved for ST students, 20 per cent of seats are set apart for SC students and 10 per cent for students from other communities. The school also has 50 staff members.
Denying the allegation that the students had been denied drinking water and toilet facilities, the school authorities said that they imposed some restriction on the use of water in the school premises as an austerity measure to prevent wastage of water as the school is located in an area experiencing acute drinking water scarcity. The school has one open well and three bore-wells which could ensure water requirement in the school provided it was used sparingly, they added.
ITDP Assistant Officer K. Prakash, who visited the school in the morning, told The Hindu that an open well had been dug in a nearby plot as part of a comprehensive scheme for ensuring drinking water for the school. The work for constructing some structures above the well for housing the pump-house would begin on November 15 and the work would be completed in a month, he said adding that the pipeline for the water supply had already been laid. He said that district administration had already asked the Kerala Water Authority here to make the scheme operational without any delay, Mr. Prakash said.
