Students at a government school in Chhattisgarh have alleged that a government official threatened them with “jail” after they raised concerns about the lack of teachers in their school. The Class 10 and 12 students from Government Higher Secondary School in Rajnandgaon said that their studies are getting affected due to shortage of teachers and despite their repeated appeals to the authorities, no action has been taken to fill the vacancies.

Manish Sisodia, former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and education minister, brought attention to “the BJP’s Double Engine Government’s Education Model”.

“These students are in 12th grade at a government school in Chhattisgarh. Under the BJP government, there isn’t a single teacher available for 11th and 12th grades. When they sought help from the government, they were dismissed and turned away. The tears they shed cast doubt on their future and that of India,” Sisodia remarked in a post on X.

He continued, “They are more than just students; they represent the future of India. They are the bedrock for the country in 2047. By then, they will be 40 years old. The state government is laying such a fragile foundation that instead of a progressive India, we will likely face a scenario of illiteracy and unemployment in 2047.”

The students had earlier approached the Collector with their grievances about the teacher shortage at their school in Aliwara village. They presented a memorandum and warned that if the issue was not resolved within three days, they would stage a sit-in protest and lock the school. The Collector directed them to contact the District Education Officer (DEO).

However, the students accused the DEO of misconduct and threats of imprisonment. They claimed he questioned who instructed them to write the application and warned, “You will be sent to jail for writing such an application.”

The school has been without teachers for Class 11 and 12 for the past two years.

The DEO denied the allegations, stating that no threats were made and that he had only advised the students not to take the law into their own hands. Meanwhile, the district administration has promised to address the teacher shortage within two days.

Parents who accompanied their children to the Collector noted that the lack of teachers for various subjects is severely disrupting their children’s education.