UP: Denied money in lieu of mid-day meal, school students lock up teachers

A group of students allegedly locked all the teachers, including the headmaster, in a room of a government school in the Durjanpur area alleging they had not received the money distributed in lieu of mid-day meal during the Covid pandemic when schools were closed for an extended period.

The students later released all the teachers, Bairia’s Block Education Officer Pankaj Mishra said on Saturday, adding he was probing the matter and necessary action will be taken in case of discrepancies.

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.

The school’s in-charge headmaster Jaiprakash Yadav told PTI that the incident occurred on Friday. Yadav said he was locked in a room by the students and was released after he assured them of action.

A video of the Durjanpur school incident surfaced on social media on Friday purportedly showing all the teachers, including the headmaster, locked up by the students in a room of the school, Mishra said.

In the video, Dheeraj, a student of class 8, could be heard saying that no student has received the money in lieu of mid-day meal during the Covid period. The matter was informed to the headmaster on several occasions, but no action was taken, the student alleged in the video.

Headmaster Yadav could also be heard in the video that all teachers have been locked up because the money was not deposited in the bank accounts of their parents. SHO of Revati police station Harendra Singh said that he has not received any information from the school regarding the incident.