Bhopal, Aug 25 (IANS) School students staged two separate protests in Vidisha on Tuesday over school transport and education issues, adding to a series of demonstrations by schoolchildren across Madhya Pradesh in recent weeks.
The fresh protests followed a demonstration in Sironj, also in Vidisha district, where schoolgirls opposed a proposed increase in concessional bus fares. The developments have brought concerns over affordability and accessibility of education, particularly for students from rural and economically weaker families, into focus.
In Sironj, private bus operators had proposed increasing the concessional fare for students from Rs 10 to Rs 25. A group of schoolgirls from a government higher secondary school protested against the move, after which the administration intervened and retained the fare at Rs 10.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari, reacting to the protests, said students were being forced to take to the streets even in Budhni constituency, associated with former chief minister and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
He said the sudden increase in bus fares was taking a toll on the education of children from poor and middle-class families, and demanded that the government roll back the hike and address students’ grievances.
Beyond transport costs, students and activists have opposed the proposed merger of smaller government schools with larger Sandipani and CM Rise campuses.
Students in Bherunda have also raised concerns about bus fares and access to educational facilities, while protests elsewhere have focused on demands for roads and basic school infrastructure.
Members of the School Bachao Sangharsh Samiti argued that shifting neighbourhood schools would force children, particularly from rural areas, to travel longer distances to attend classes.
Last week, hundreds of girls demonstrated outside the district collector’s office against the proposed shifting or merger of several smaller government schools with a larger school in the Daudkhedi area of Ujjain, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.
–IANS
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