23 GIRLS ABSCONDED FROM KASTURBA SCHOOL

23 GIRLS ABSCONDED FROM KASTURBA SCHOOL

1-AUG-ENG 11

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

PATNA-----------------------There was chaos in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Awasiya Vidyalaya (Type-1), Sampatchak on Wednesday when 23 girls of class six absconded from the hostel together. Earlier it was said that the girls had fled due to fear of some 'ghost', but later it came to light that the roots of this fear were hidden in the chaos and insecurity prevailing in the school.

The school has neither guards, nor cooks, nor adequate staff for supervision. The girls had to cook food, wash utensils and do the cleaning themselves for months. This atmosphere of neglect and insecurity frightened the girls, after which they decided to run away together.

Many of the students who ran away, including Shivratri Kumari, Shivani Kumari, Rani Kumari, Tanu, Nisha and Chandni, initially talked about a “ghost”, but when their parents asked them what the ghost had done, no one had a concrete answer. The investigation revealed that this fear had actually arisen from the poor condition of the school.

Warden Mamta Rani said that all three guards in this hostel, which has about 90 girls, have been absent for months. Some are ill, some are mourning at home, while some are saying that they are unable to serve. The only cook has also left the job a few days ago, because she is unable to work due to age.

The school administration informed the department several times, but neither security personnel were found nor the kitchen arrangements improved. As a result, the young girls have to cook their own food and clean their surroundings. This neglect has filled their minds with a feeling of insecurity.

When the news spread after the girls ran away, an alert parent identified his daughter in the crowd near Mittanchak. After interrogation, the entire incident came to light and the police and school management were immediately informed. The police of Gopalpur police station showed promptness and found all the girls and sent them back to the hostel safely.

As soon as this news spread on Thursday, dozens of parents reached the school. Many people insisted on taking their daughters back home. A parent who arrived from Naubatpur reacted sharply and said, "This incident is not a rumor of a ghost, but a shameful truth of government neglect." He raised the question that when this is the condition of a government school located in a city like Patna, then what would be the condition in rural areas?

Warden Mamta Rani assured the parents that soon arrangements for a cook and a guard would be made. At the same time, many parents were seen explaining to their daughters that "there is no such thing as a ghost, this fear is an illusion."

However, this entire incident has raised an important question—have the safety, nutrition and care of girls been left behind in residential schools like Kasturba? This incident is not just a news, but a document of the failure of the government system, which is now impossible to ignore.

This ‘ghost’ is of the failure of the system, in which the innocence of girls has come out in the form of fear.