Primary school girls allege caste bias by Upleta teachers

Rajkot: A video of a primary school of Upleta town of Rajkot district has gone viral in which girl students of Class IV and V are expressing their angst at being subjected to castiests slurs and discrimination inside the classrooms.
The shocking contents of the video shows the girls, studying in Rajmoti Primary School run by the Upleta primary education committee, complaining to a local Dalit leader Bala Dumiyani on Friday morning, about their daily ordeal.The girls are heard naming three teachers — Jignesh, Rasila and Laxmi. They said that in any invitation for lunch (for religious purposes where young girls are invited), the teachers would pointedly remark that the invitations exclude the ‘Harijan’ girls. They further said that if any girl from the lower caste would dare to defy the trios diktat, she would be thrashed with sticks and also pinched on the legs.
One girl claims that while as a teacher Laxmi teaches nicely, but she often slaps the girls. “Laxmi teacher slaps me often. Once, when my father had come to the school, I went to inform her. But before I could say anything, the teacher slapped me first before asking me why I had come to her,” she said.
The girl further said that even for petty errors while playing a game, the teacher would resort to harsh punishments and even hurl abusive words at these girls.
“They keep asking us if we eat non-veg food? Do we have a tradition in our ‘Harijan’ caste to welcome guests at our homes with meat? Do we have to sacrifice goat while offering Naived (religious ritual)?” the girl was heard complaining agitatedly.
Talkin g to TOI, Bala Dumiyani confirmed the girls’ outburst before him on Friday. “These girls belong to our family. But Friday is a holiday. I will go to the school when it reopens and ask the teachers and principals why they have resorted to such discrimination against lower-caste students,” he said.