Students boycott classes in UP school following headmistress's suspension over boundary wall dispute

Deepti Yadav, who had been serving as the acting headmistress, received her suspension notice on Tuesday from the Sambhal district education department.

Students at a government middle school in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, boycotted their classes on Wednesday and Thursday, protesting the suspension of their headmistress, Assistant Teacher Deepti Yadav.

This action followed the controversy surrounding the construction of a boundary wall at the school, as reported by Indian Express.

The local panchayat pradhan of Saidpur Nibaula village, Naresh Kumar, whose wife Raj Bala is the pradhan, claimed that the Block Education Officer (BEO), Sultan Ahmad, was displeased that the new wall excluded his office, leading to Yadav's suspension.

However, the Sambhal Basic Shiksha Adhikari countered this, asserting that Yadav was suspended for building the wall to dodge school inspections.

The middle school caters to students from classes VI to VIII and currently has 81 students.

Deepti Yadav, who had been serving as the acting headmistress, received her suspension notice on Tuesday from the district education department.

“The issue is that during the rainy season every year, water from the nearby lake collects on the school premises. For one week this year, classes couldn’t be held because of the stagnant water. I had informed the Block Education Officer about this, and he told me to get a boundary wall constructed. One month ago, I started construction of the boundary wall. BEO Sultan Ahmad said that I should get his office, which is next to the school, also within the new boundary wall. I refused this. He got stopped the construction of the boundary wall", said Naresh Kumar.

“Over this issue, the BEO got the headmistress suspended. Since the suspension, the students of the school have stopped attending classes, demanding the suspension be revoked. The BEO took out his anger on the teacher because I refused to get his office within the boundary wall”, added Kumar.

Deepti Yadav, in conversation with Indian Express, denied the allegations against her, "I was accused of getting the boundary wall constructed. This is wrong. It was done by the panchayat head with funds for the village development. I was handed over my suspension letter on Tuesday. I have been teaching at the school for eight years, and suddenly, I am suspended over false allegations. Despite me doing good work at the school, I have been suspended which is a form of mental harassment”, she said.