Schools battle several odds, students a long day

But the changed school timings had everyone to their toes. Unaware children had to come to school twice: first at usual time (7am) and then again three hours later.

The Indian Express visited schools in Musafirkhana tehsil to find teachers struggling with the limited resources to make arrangements.

At A H Inter College, students had to sit for a total of seven hours — from 10 am to 5pm — with no lunch break in between, to first please Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, in Amethi for his two-day visit, and then to local BJP leaders and administration who had gathered to oversee the arrangements, and probably also to keep an eye on whether the children attended the programme or not.

But while the PM’s address was still few hours away, children, who had arrived not unaware of the timings, sat down to listen to Rahul, who arrived at 2pm (late from scheduled 12.30pm) and spoke of the energy in today’s young generation. “I consider Mahatma Gandhi as my guru.

The energy that is there in youngsters today was there in him as well as Hitler. While teachers of Mahatma showed him the right way, teachers of Hitler did not. I feel it is the teachers who make us good human beings.”

The programme, after Rahul felicitated 34 teachers, drew to a close at 3pm.

But for the children, the day was far from over.  The college administration did not waste any time and soon fixed the television, powered by a generator, on the same dais where Rahul stood a few minutes ago. The guards at the main gate ensured no one left the college before the PM had finished his speech.

“We had come at 10am and were expecting school to get over by 1.30. Later, Rahul Gandhi, too, came and left around 3pm. We have now been asked to listen to the Prime Minister as well. We are hungry and have not had anything to eat,” said a tired Saumya Tiwari, class XII student of the college.

Principal Jai Prakash Tiwari admitted there was miscommunication over the timings but expressed his helplessness. “The local newspapers had carried the statement of District Inspector of Schools, saying action will be taken against those who do not make arrangement for the PM’s program.”

In the adjoining Government Primary School, the scene was different, but the problems were similar. Education officers had arranged for the television set, hired for Rs 300, with speakers from a “tentwala”. But there was no power since morning. As a result, the entire set-up, along with the children, was shifted to neighbouring Block Resource Center, which had an inverter. An electrician was called to make some adjustments and hand fans were arranged for teachers fighting the heat in the cluttered room. Students used their textbooks.

“We were informed about the changed timings late in the afternoon Thursday. And so we could not tell the students. I came to school around 7 am and told the students that the timing for the day is 11 to 5. Some came back, others didn’t,” said Shashi Singh, a teacher.

Singh kept switching between signals coming from Lucknow and Gorakhpur to get better results on the old radio that she had got from her father-in-law.

At Kapur Chand Pur primary school, teachers could be seen roaming around, holding the radio in hand, searching for signal. They got it on the ramp near the fields and the programme was moved there accordingly.

“Modi ko sun rahe hain,” said Dristi Baranwal, a class V student. Asked who Modi is, she said, “Pradhan Mantri”. This crucial information was passed to her by her teacher before the PM had begun his address.