Kolkata, Sep 9 (PTI) A day after the headmaster of a 150-year-old school in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri was assaulted by students following a controversy over a special midday meal, district education officials on Wednesday inspected the institute.
Headmaster Dharmachand Barui, who was injured in the attack, did not attend school on Wednesday. A portion of his chamber was also vandalised by the students.
A special midday meal is generally served to students on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, and it was supposed to be provided to students on Tuesday. However, a section of the students complained that they were not given rice and chicken in adequate quantity.
Officials led by District Inspector of Schools (Secondary) Sujit Sarkar inspected the headmaster’s chamber, including its damaged glass door, the room where the midday meal is prepared, and other parts of the school, and took photographs and videos as part of the process.
“It is an internal matter of the school. We came for an inspection following Tuesday’s incident. The entire matter will be reported to the education department. I cannot say much about the investigation at this stage,” Sarkar told reporters.
Attendance of students at the school was also reported to be considerably low following Tuesday’s violence.
According to eyewitnesses, an altercation broke out after which the students chased the headmaster, pushed him to the ground and assaulted him.
The situation prompted the authorities to deploy Rapid Action Force personnel at the school.
The police reached the school to rescue the injured headmaster, but students obstructed the personnel, officials said.
Police eventually managed to persuade the students and took the injured principal to hospital. An injured student was also taken for medical treatment.
The assault on a teacher at the school has triggered widespread condemnation, prompting the state education department to order an investigation.
A school education official said Education Minister Dipak Barman may visit the institute, which was established in 1876 in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri town, later this week. PTI SUS NN
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