Over a dozen of Dalit students left a Government-run upper primary school to register their protest against the removal of a Dalit cook by the school management here.
The incident happened at Gahirapala Project Upper Primary School in Gahirapala village under Dasarathapur block where a total of 14 Dalit students are reading. But following the removal of the cook, they quit the school en masse and took away their school leaving certificates.
The school authorities had removed cook Janaki Jena from the school triggering discontent among the Dalit students and their parents. The Dalit cook was replaced by a cook from the upper caste.
The headmaster and other teachers of the school segregated the upper caste and Dalit students into two groups to provide mid-day meal (MDM) in two rows for which many guardians of the Dalit children protested it. But the teachers abused many Dalit students and their parents for protesting the move, alleged Narahari Jena, a local.
"Three teachers had been misbehaving with us on caste ground. They also segregated us from other upper caste students. A majority of the teachers never touched us and always branded us as 'untouchables'," lamented Barsa Jena (11), a class V student of the school.
Hrusikesh Jena, a guardian of a student, also stated that the teachers of the school often abused the Dalit students for which many Dalit students were reluctant to go to school.
The Dalit children were also singled out in school and forced to sweep and mop classrooms and clean bathrooms, said Bijaya Jena who studies in Class IV.He explained, "We were not allowed to take water from the pot kept in the school. If we happened to touch a teacher by mistake, we faced his wrath for committing the sin."
"The teachers never checked my home works. I was often asked to clean urinals and toilets," said the teen boy. Similar concerns were expressed by Samir Jena, a bright lad studying in Class V.
When asked, District Inspector (DI) of Schools laxmidhar Das said, "The Dalit cook was removed as the upper caste students skipped the mid day meal. Thus we were forced to engage a cook from the upper caste in consultation with the school management committee. However, keeping in view the resentment of the Dalit students and their parents, I visited the school and talked to the Dalit parents. We have called upon them to send back their wards to the school."
Human rights activist Prafulla Nayak expressed grave concern over the continuation of age old practice of casteism in the school and demanded action against the errant teachers.