Sandam-Suntaley parents accuse JHS headmaster and teachers of sneaking in their wards for CM’s Special Merit Scholarship at the cost of genuine candidates

VILLAGE WANTS SERVICES OF HEADMASTER AND ACCUSED TEACHERS TERMINATED

SAGAR CHHETRI
GANGTOK, 01 March: The state government has been pursuing quality education by launching various unique programmes and schemes. The Chief Minister’s Special Merit Scholarship which seeks to place meritorious students hailing from underprivileged backgrounds and enrolled in government schools at the leading schools of the State and the country, is one such laudable initiative. Unfortunately, there are always opportunists around to undermine the best of efforts, and one such subversion was alleged today by villagers of Sadam-Suntaley in South Sikkim who accused the headmaster and two teachers of the junior high school there of having got their wards to sit for the screening test [for the scheme] at the cost of the school’s genuine class-V toppers. The screening test for the scholarship was open to students who secured the first and second positions in class V exams in their respective schools.

The people of Sadam-Suntaley in south district have accused the headmaster and two teachers of Suntaley JHS of having cornered seats under the scheme by resorting to unfair means.
Under this scheme, a hundred students from government schools across the state were selected for government sponsored education till class XII at reputed schools.
Among the 100 shortlisted students, 21 top-scorers will be studying in institutions reputed at the national level outside Sikkim and the rest admitted to the reputed institutions within the state.
Apart from topping the class V exams in their respective schools, candidates for the screening test also needed to prove that they had studied from Class I to Class V in a government school and had Certificates of Identification [proving them to be children of Sikkim Subjects].
Speaking on behalf of the people of Sadam-Suntaley today, Purna Karki and Tilak Karki, alleged that the headmaster, Purna Bahadur Gurung, and two teachers, Binod Gurung and Bhuwan Pandey, of Suntaley JHS played foul in the conduction of this scheme at their school.
They alleged that the headmaster and one of the teachers, Bhuwan Pandey, submitted forged results for their daughters showing them as being students at Suntaley JHS when they were actually studying in private schools in the area. Their wards took the exam and were shortlisted among the top-21 students for the scholarship to study outside the state.
It was informed that Mr Gurung’s daughter, who was studying at Loreto Convent in Sadam, and Mr Pandey’s daughter, who was studying at Nav Jyoti English School in Sadam, were recorded as having come first and second from Suntaley JHS and thus qualifying for the screening test.
“By doing so, Bal Kumar Chettri who stood first and Anvesh Chettri who stood second at the school were deprived of an opportunity to sit for the scholarship examination,” the two villagers alleged.
They add that it is immaterial whether these two students would have cleared the screening test or not but at least, they would have received an opportunity which was due to them.
This is now being held up as a direct attack on the rights of the underprivileged.
The offended people of the area now plan to serve a legal notice to the Chief Secretary along with the Secretary, Director and Joint Director [South] of HRDD to take immediate and strict action on the incident within one month.
The people of Sadam-Suntaley have demanded that all those involved in this denial of opportunity to their wards be terminated from services immediately. Mere suspension of disciplinary action, they contend, is not enough punishment for their offence.