6 days ago
Tribal Students Shifted Amid Dispute Over Visakhapatnam Excellence Centre
A residential school in Visakhapatnam houses tribal students from Classes 6 to 10.
Officials want to use the school site for a new Centre of Excellence for Classes 11 and 12.
Students and parents said the children were woken at night and moved without enough warning.
They protested outside an office in Paderu.
Kumbha Ravi Babu said the students were treated unfairly.
The local development agency denied forcing the students out.
It said some students moved to another nearby school, some went home, and others went to schools closer to the city.
Officials said the new centre will provide free education to 600 tribal students.
Around 480 tribal students at Marikavalasa Boys Tribal Gurukulam were reportedly moved overnight.
Students’ belongings were allegedly packed as the premises were cleared for a proposed Centre of Excellence.
Students and parents held a dharna outside the ITDA office in Paderu.
YSRCP MLC Kumbha Ravi Babu called the reported removal inhuman and demanded the school continue.
ITDA officials denied the allegations, saying students were relocated and 600 would receive free education at the new centre.
- Who
- Around 480 tribal students, their parents, YSRCP MLC Kumbha Ravi Babu, and ITDA officials.
- What
- Students were reportedly relocated from the Marikavalasa Boys Tribal Gurukulam as the site was prepared for a proposed Centre of Excellence.
- Where
- Marikavalasa in Visakhapatnam, with a protest outside the ITDA office in Paderu.
- When
- The relocation reportedly began around 9 p.m. on Tuesday and continued until Wednesday evening; the protest and condemnation followed on Thursday.
- Why
- Officials said the premises would house a Centre of Excellence for 600 tribal students in Classes 11 and 12.
Critics’ Account
Officials’ Account
How students were moved
Critics’ Account
Kumbha Ravi Babu alleged that officials and police entered rooms, packed belongings, and moved students without adequate prior notice in an inhuman manner.
Officials’ Account
ITDA Project Officer Aditya Varma denied the charges and said students had been shifted to other institutions and nearby locations.
Use of the school premises
Critics’ Account
Critics said the existing gurukulam should continue and proposed constructing a separate building or using another available building for the new centre.
Officials’ Account
Officials said the school site would host a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence offering free education to 600 tribal children.
Key facts
- Students affected
- Around 480 tribal students in Classes 6 to 10, according to the report.
- Official relocation figures
- 225 students were reportedly moved to Marikavalasa Co-educational Residential School, 34 went home, and the rest were accommodated in schools closer to the city.
- Proposed centre
- The Centre of Excellence is intended for 600 tribal students and will provide free education, according to ITDA officials.
- Reported timing
- The process allegedly began around 9 p.m. Tuesday and continued until Wednesday evening.
- Protest location
- Students and parents staged a dharna outside the ITDA office in Paderu.
- School history
- The Marikavalasa Tribal Gurukulam was established in 2004, and a junior college was added in 2010.
Quotes
Dr Kumbha Ravi Babu
YSRCP MLC and tribal leader
“If the government wants a Centre of Excellence, it should construct a separate building or utilise another available building in Visakhapatnam. It should not be established by removing 480 tribal students from their school.”
deccanchronicle.com
Aditya Varma
ITDA Paderu project officer
“The state-of-the-art Centre for Excellence is coming up in that school where 600 tribal children will get the best of education free.”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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