RANCHI: More than 250 girl students of CD CM School of Excellence in Koderma staged a protest on Thursday, blocking parts of the town for over three hours to demand the revocation of the suspension of their acting principal, Shashi Bhushan Singh. After school hours ended at 3 pm, the students took their protest to the prominent Jhanda Chowk, blocking traffic and disrupting vehicular movement across the town.
The students alleged that Singh had been suspended without any concrete reason and claimed that the action stemmed from personal enmity. They have been protesting on the school premises since Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the District Education Officer (DEO) lodged an FIR against the principal, accusing him of instigating the students to protest.
The protesting students remained firm on their demand, insisting that they would not call off their agitation until their principal's suspension was revoked.
"We have only one demand: the suspension of our principal must be revoked. If he has done anything wrong, we have the right to know the actual reason for his suspension," said a protesting student, requesting anonymity.
On Wednesday, the students learnt about their principal's suspension when they arrived at school, prompting them to express anger and oppose the Education Department's decision.
After completing the necessary formalities, the principal was leaving the school premises when a group of students tried to stop him. As he continued towards the exit, the students chased him, opened the school's main gate and brought him back from the road onto the campus, raising slogans and demanding the withdrawal of the departmental action against him.
The students insisted that he stay at the school, triggering a commotion on the campus. On being informed, local police rushed to the spot and intervened. They managed to pacify the students and persuaded them to return to the school building. The incident created a tense atmosphere on the campus for some time.
The students said the school's administration had improved significantly since Shashi Bhushan Singh took over as principal. They claimed that, alongside academics, other school activities had also witnessed positive developments.
They described his suspension as unjust and alleged that it was driven by malice. They demanded that the order be revoked and that Singh be reinstated as principal.
According to District Education Officer Mukul Raj, Principal Shashi Bhushan Singh was suspended for negligence in the discharge of his duties and for disregarding departmental directives. He said Singh had repeatedly failed to comply with instructions from senior officials and had been issued show-cause notices on three separate occasions.
"The department had sought an explanation from him; however, his responses were neither clear nor satisfactory. Consequently, departmental action was taken, resulting in his suspension," the DEO said. He clarified that the action had been taken for administrative reasons and was not motivated by any personal animosity.
The DEO said disciplinary action was occasionally taken within the Education Department in cases of negligence. He also accused the principal of politicising the entire episode.
