SHILLONG:
Hundreds of students of Pine Mount School, studying in classes IX to XII, gathered outside the gates of the establishment on September 8 to demand the removal of principal Aiom Ksiar Diengdoh and for the government to address the various problems they are facing.
According to the students, the problems they are facing have been in existence for almost 7 years, and despite the principal being informed about them, nothing has been done.
The list of issues that the students are facing include dilapidated toilets, classrooms with leaking roofs, and a laboratory that is not up to date. Another issue that they are facing is lack of a library, which they say had been there before but has now been turned into a classroom.
Standing firm on their demands, the students said they will continue to gather outside the school everyday after classes until something is done for the betterment of the institution.
The protest by the students comes in the wake of parents coming out in support of the teachers who demanded the removal of the principal on September 6 after a protest was carried out by the teachers the previous day.
On Wednesday morning, parents of students had gathered outside the institution to support the teachers and students and get the government’s attention. One parent had said that the issues raised by the teachers have been pending for a long time, and that earlier too the Parent Teacher Association of the school had submitted a memorandum to the government on the state of affairs of the school.
“We hoped that some action will be taken by the government on the issues raised by us, however, we saw reports that stated this was politically motivated. But we parents want to say that the dirty toilets, the absence of a library, absence of sport activities, cramped class rooms is not political at all,” the parent had said.
Students of the school also took the media around the campus to show the actual situation inside, especially the toilets which were dirty.
Earlier on September 6, Pine Mount School teachers had carried out a protest on the school premises to demand the removal of the principal. Carrying black flags, they listed a number of things that have not been addressed by the government. Among the issues listed, was an allegation by them that the principal is never present in the school office during school hours rendering them helpless when they want to discuss issues regarding welfare of the school and the students.
They also demanded the principal be removed and replaced with someone who will be sensitive to the needs of the teachers and the students and to improve the image of the school, thereby bringing back the lost glory of the prestigious institution. The teachers further said that there has been a precedence of the principal being removed in 2000.
Following the protest by the teachers and parents, the state government issued a notice on September 7, which stated that it is fully aware of the problems faced by Pine Mount School, Shillong.
It also said that a four member enquiry committee, headed by R Rapthap, IAS, Secretary to the Government of Meghalaya, Education Department, has been constituted to look into the various complaints and grievances of the teachers of the establishment. It said the committee will submit reports of their findings and recommendations for resolving the issues by the state government at the earliest.
In conclusion, it appealed to the teachers not to resort to any form of agitation in the interest of keeping the atmosphere of the school peaceful.