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In Barwaia of Palamau district
in Jharkhand, the local villagers took the initiative and started a school in
1984. This later became a high school and the only high school within a radius
of 15-20 km and attracted a large number of girls who now had the opportunity to
study without having to go long distances. At present the school has a strength
of 250 students and four batches of class 10 students have already passed out
with 80% results. For a long time the school was functioning in ‘kuchcha’
premises. Subsequently, the villagers started contributing cash, kind and labour
to have a ‘pucca’ school of their own. The very poor, kept aside a handful of
rice, while cooking, as their contribution. Slowly and steadily, the pucca
building started coming up with one room being added each year.
With the completion of the
building, the school construction samiti decided to inaugurate it formally on 2
February, 2001 and rename the school as Birsa-Munda Ucch Vidyalya.
However the state had other
plans. In January itself, the SP, Mr. Anil Palta intimidated the teachers that
they would be arrested if they went to the new building. The reason given was
that the school is an extremist school being run by the PW!
However the people did not take
it lying down. On 16th March, students, teachers and parents sat on a dharna in
Ranchi to protest against this high handedness and to ask how the cement, bricks
or children be ‘extremists’!
Yet another inauguration of a
people’s school was disrupted on 20 March, 2001 in Lankakope village in Manika
thana in Palamau district when the police attacked the pandal at the
inauguration of a middle school. A woman was badly beaten and false cases were
foisted against 9 people including a MLA.
On the one hand the government
is talking about decentralisation of schools and schemes like the EGS (education
guarantee scheme) and on the other hand brutally closing down the schools being
actually run by the people. All hype about decentralisation and panchayatikaran
of schools is nothing but an excuse to abdicate the responsibility of the
government to provide even the basic education.
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