The eight-year-old building of Indira Adarsh Primary School in Srinagar, Bhakura Panchayat of Ara Sadar block in Bhojpur, Bihar, collapsed on October 1. Just weeks earlier, the dangerous condition of the building had been highlighted during an inspection carried out under the CPI(ML) Liberation-RYA-AISA’s ‘School Thik Karo, Shiksha Sudharo’ (Fix the Schools, Improve Education) campaign.
On October 5, students and parents, along with the Bhojpur Party Unit and RYA, took the struggle to the streets with a ‘Sadak Pe School’ (School on the Road) protest. They demanded construction of a new school building, immediate alternative arrangements for classes, an impartial investigation and the arrest of those responsible. The District Education Officer was forced to come to the protest site and give a written, time-bound assurance on the demands.
The protest is part of the wider ‘School Thik Karo, Shiksha Sudharo’ campaign, under which CPI(ML) Liberation, along with its student and youth organisations, has been conducting surveys of schools across Bihar and taking up the problems identified through these surveys as a movement for better schools and quality education.
The condition of the government school system across Bihar remains a serious concern. Government schools continue to face shortages of teachers and basic infrastructure. Recent data shows that thousands of schools lack facilities such as libraries, playgrounds, computers, electricity and drinking water, while 1,865 schools have only a single teacher. In several schools, students are forced to sit on the floor because of inadequate classrooms and furniture.
The crisis also affects essential services for children. The midday meal system, which is particularly important for children from poor families, has faced disruption in parts of Bihar due to months of pending payments to suppliers.
The burden of this neglect falls most heavily on children from poor and marginalised communities. The ‘School Thik Karo, Shiksha Sudharo’ campaign is bringing these issues to the forefront and building a movement for safe schools, adequate facilities, teachers and the right to quality public education.
The campaign has also seen student mobilisation in Darbhanga. Young students held a protest at the Bahadurpur Block Education Officer’s office, raising their demands for better school facilities and an improvement in the conditions of government schools. These struggles are giving a wider expression to the demand that every child, particularly children from poor and marginalised families, must have access to safe schools and quality public education.
