The decision of a public school in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, to remove a student with aspirations for having a better life for himself and his family all because his father is a tea seller, has attracted a lot of public derision on social media and other platforms.
This decision of the school authorities is being seen as bizarre in a country whose Prime Minister has expressed pride over the fact that he also once sold tea on a railway platform in Gujarat and rose to greater heights by sheer willpower and determination.
Questions are now being asked that if such practices are being encouraged, then how can anyone progress and how can India progress.
As now of now the concerned student, Arihant Jain, is at home, and the matter has reached the office of the District Magistrate of Baghpat, and he has ordered the DIOOS, Baghpat, to conduct an immediate inquiry into the incident related to the Mahavira Academy School in Baghpat District’s Baraut Tehsil and give him a report for further action.
Arihant’s father, Mangatrai Jain told ANI that he is not a well-educated person, and that he has been supporting his family by selling tea. He said that it was his desire to see his son become a doctor, and described the latter, a student of class five, as a bright and smart child and one who has performed with distinction so far.
Mangatrai Jain asked, “The country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, also sold tea. Does it mean that a child whose father sells tea today does not have the right to study or cannot study? Will a school such as this one be allowed to continue with its authoritarian ways?”
Jain further claimed that his son has spent the past two years at home and is mentally depressed. The irony of it all is that the school authorities are refusing to come on camera.
The question uppermost in everyone’s mind is will action be taken against the school and those who run it? And, will Arihant’s future be saved and will this policy of children of tea sellers not being allowed to study or attend school end?
Baghpat’s District Magistrate Hriday Shankar Tiwari said, “When the Modi government is trying to raise the literacy rate by facilitating the education of downtrodden, this sort of situation cannot be allowed to prevail or be tolerated.”
“We will look into this issue again and make sure the student is admitted again in the school. An enquiry has been ordered into the issue to look into why this happened,” Tiwari told ANI.
Mangatrai Jain said, I have told the District Magistrate that after this investigation is conducted, if nothing positive comes out of it, I will approach Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani. I have asked for her time.
