Cracked walls, dry taps, dirty toilets: Jaipur students’ protest costs principal his post

During his suspension, Joshi will receive subsistence allowance as per rules, and his headquarters will be the Directorate of Secondary Education, Bikaner. A teacher and a Class IV employee have also been placed under Awaiting Posting Orders (APO).

During the protest, students sat at the school gate, alleging that toilets were in a dilapidated condition, there was an acute shortage of drinking water, and several classrooms had cracked walls. They said they had repeatedly raised these issues with the school administration, but no action had been taken, leaving them with no option but to protest. The students communicated with the media through sign language.

The school has 583 hearing-impaired students, including 120 girls and 162 boys residing in the hostels.

Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully also visited the school and interacted with the students and staff and listened to their grievances.

Speaking to reporters, Gehlot alleged, “Teachers who do not know sign language have been posted at the school, making communication with students difficult. The condition of the campus is bad, the toilets are not being cleaned, classrooms are dirty and the building is in poor shape.”

Gehlot said he would write to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, urging immediate action on the demand of the students. He said sign language is the primary means of communication for such students and stressed that teachers posted at the institution should be proficient in it.

Responding to allegations that teachers without training in sign language had been posted at the school, Batra said all teachers from Class 1 to X were specially trained. She said that the state government had recently appointed 13 teachers for Class XI and XII, all of whom are now serving at the school.

“The condition of the school building is bad. There are issues of sewerage blockage in girls and boys hostels. It has been ongoing and we had complained to the Jaipur Municipal Corporation officials, but the work has been delayed for a month. We have also written to the state government,” she added.