Worried about their education and approaching examinations, the students of Kulana village in Budhlada constituency on Thursday locked their government high school in protest against the shifting of their Hindi teacher on deputation.
Villagers joined the 250 students in protest. Of the school's nine teachers, Hindi master Baljit Singh has been deputed to another government school. "His transfer is the fallout of his argument with the school head over some issue," said a student during the agitation. "Worried about examinations, we want out teacher back."
"Our district has the lowest literacy rate in Punjab and its students are denied seats in good colleges because of their poor scores," said another protesting student. "How can we perform well without teacher. Why should the personal tussle between the school head and teacher be our loss."
"The government is least bothered about the students in government schools," said Amarjit Singh, sarpanch of Kulana. Baljit Singh was transferred after the school head complained to the district education officer (secondary) that the teacher did not abide by rules and regulations.