The public agitation for opening evening shift in the Kendriya Vidhyalaya- Indian Institute of Petroleum (KV- IIP) has intensified.
The agitating parents belonging to the Mokampur and Mianwala area of the provincial state capital got a boost when the members of the ‘Save KV- FRI association’ under their President Vijay Giri Goswami joined their agitation and pledged their total support.
This association has recently won its battle to save the KV FRI which was on brink of closure.
On Thursday, the parents again assembled in front of the school and engaged in a vehement protest. The Principal of the school, Safalta Vishnoi invited a delegation of parents for discussion on the issue but the talks proved inconclusive.
The President of the Kesar Jan Kalyan Samiti (KJKS) which is spearheading the agitation, N K Gusain said that it is hard to understand the logic behind the decision to close II shift. “The school was being operated in two shifts when it was in a makeshift and dilapidated building and now when the school has got shifted in a big and modern building the authorities have decided to run the school in one shift only,’’ he quipped. Gusain added that with start of evening shift number of seats in the school would increase and the parents of the locality would get benefit as many of them cannot afford high fees of private schools. Gusain threatened that if the second shift in the school is not started within a time frame of one week then a massive agitation would be launched. He claimed that people belonging to ten Gram sabhas would be benefited if the II shift of the school is resumed.
The school authorities maintain that the second shift was merged with the first shift as per orders of the HRD ministry. They are also raising the issue of safety of students if evening shift is started as the school is located on a busy National Highway and area is frequented by leopards.