Student protests force Madhya Pradesh to reverse school merger decision

Gen Alpha rises, one school at a time

More than 300 schoolgirls in Ujjain marched to the Collector's office on August 14 and staged a protest that forced the Madhya Pradesh government to reverse its decision to merge their 65-year-old institution with a facility 6 kilometres away. Two students fainted during the demonstration, which went viral and drew top BJP leaders—including the Chief Minister's sister and the local MP—to the campus four days later with an assurance that classes would continue at the existing site.

The victory at Maharani Lakshmibai Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sarafa, is part of a wider wave of student-led protests across BJP-ruled States in the past month. School children in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan have questioned authorities over broken roads, teacher shortages, crumbling classrooms, and unsafe infrastructure.

Inspired by Gen Z, driven by survival

Monika Sisodia, a Class 12 commerce student who led the Ujjain protest, said the girls were inspired by the Gen Z demonstrations against examination irregularities that had led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan—an unprecedented move in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 12 years in power. "We did not discuss our plans to protest with the teachers, but we decided to fight for our education. Had this not happened, many girls would have had to quit their studies," Monika said.

While the Gen Z protests largely involved college-going urban youth, the Gen Alpha uprising features school students in small towns and rural areas demanding accountability and transparency. On July 13, students at Eklavya Model Residential School in Chhindwara's Tamia tehsil alleged worms in their hostel food and gathered in the rain demanding the District Collector hear their complaints. On August 15, primary and middle school children in Chhatarpur stopped State Cabinet Minister Dilip Ahirwar's convoy over a broken road, missing boundary wall, and no electricity. The same day, scores of schoolchildren from Chhatarpur's Maharajpur tehsil set out on a 40-kilometre march to district headquarters; the protest lasted 18 hours and ended only after the local BJP MLA met them past midnight.

Dropouts mount as mergers proceed

Despite Sarafa's reprieve, 10 other Ujjain schools are being merged with Daudkhedi under a March 30 order affecting 2,978 students. Prem Singh Parihar, former principal of Mahakal Maidan middle school, said 117 students took transfer certificates since April, reducing strength from 282 to 165. "Most parents who came to get the TCs had the same concern. They did not want to send their children so far. While some have borne the extra financial burden of sending their children to private schools nearby, there are a few who cannot afford it," Parihar said. More than 75 girls left Sarafa after their Class 10 results when merger news spread, dropping the school's strength from 580 to 415.

Parents say the extra commute to Daudkhedi means lost daily wages. "My children leave at 7 in the morning by bus and return only by 7 in the evening. How will they study after a 12-hour day?" said the father of two primary students, who works as a driver for a local BJP leader. Roshni Prajapati, a Class 11 Arts student at Sarafa, said, "My father drives an auto-rickshaw, so I make cotton lamp wicks after school and earn about ₹50 every day to help my family. My parents, and many others, had told us that we may have to quit studies if our school was shifted".

Teacher shortage cripples learning

On August 17 in Lucknow, over 200 students from Jai Prakash Narayan Sarvodaya Vidyalaya for Girls marched roughly 3 kilometres in heavy rain to the Dubagga-Kanpur bypass, demanding more teachers and basic amenities. Vidhi Singh, 15, the daughter of a farm labourer preparing for her Class 10 board exam, told her companions sheltering from the downpour, "Let's reach the bypass. Our march is more important". "Very few classes were being held due to the teacher shortage. This is impacting our studies in core subjects. We need qualified teachers immediately," she said.

A November 2023 NITI Aayog report stated there were 2.1 lakh vacant teaching positions across government schools in Uttar Pradesh, and no job vacancy for primary teachers has been advertised in over five years. Sadanand Mishra, a retired Government Primary School teacher and member of the Uttar Pradesh Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, said most teachers' working hours are spent on non-teaching duties like midday meal distribution, data collection, and election duties. A 2020 National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration report found only 19 per cent of a teacher's annual school-working hours were spent on teaching activities.

Days after the Gen Alpha protests began, the Rajasthan government imposed restrictions on outsiders entering government schools and barred photography and videography without written approval, citing student "safety and privacy".

Source: The Hindu