By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Feb 15: The students and teaching community in the state have already borne the brunt of the COVID-induced lockdown for nearly a year now. Online classes had become the norm and now after the hiatus the schools had finally re-opened since last month. But their problems are far from over thanks to the twin problem of load shedding and ongoing strike of commercial vehicles read taxis.
The Principal of Jail Road Boys Higher Secondary School, J Pal asserted that the twin challenges of load shedding and road blockade is affecting the morale of the students as well as the teachers especially at a time when the Board exams are knocking at the door.
“We are facing extremely difficult situations on account of these two challenges which have suddenly cropped up,” he said, adding that the official transactions of the school which have to be done digitally and the ongoing strike are certainly posing a monumental challenge for everyone.
“I urge the concerned authorities to resolve all the problems at the earliest as such challenges are affecting the morale of all and sundry,” he said.
Anas Qureshi, a student of Laban Bengalee Boys Higher Secondary School too lamented that the ongoing situation in the city has posed severe challenges for him and for thousands of students like him.
“We are not able to get to school in taxis so we have to walk. As a result we reach school late,” Anas said while adding that many students are not able to reach school due to the ongoing taxi strike which has reached its 13th day.
Echoing similar views, Moushumi Chakraborty, lecturer, Women’s College said that the authorities should do something about the ongoing load shedding in view of the fact that Class XI exams are starting next month and even the Board exams will start in two months. “The timing from 9 am to 12 noon is too bad and this is very wrong on the part of the government,” she said while adding that a load shedding of one hour is bearable but a power cut of 3 hours is too long.
A high school teacher of a local school teaching Science and Mathematics to Classes 9 and 10 was very agitated by the call of the MJACCV to keep private vehicles too off the road.
“It’s bad enough that we had to shut school during the COVID phase. Now that we are just recovering from the lockdown and starting school here is this commercial transport strike that has put students under so much stress. I will go to school and teach, come what may because my students are so keen to learn. If anyone stops me I will say, ‘Do you want to prevent students from coming to school so that they too become taxi drivers? Surely they should be allowed to pursue their dreams. Your fight is with the government, why punish students and teachers?'”