Many absent from class-XI exams at Nandigram

Mou Chakraborty,
Kolkata, March 17, 2007
The class-XI exams conducted all over the state went through without any trouble, though around 136 students out of 1,314 from Nandigram did not turn up for the exams. The question being raised right now, is whether students from the area would be able to sit for the higher secondary examinations starting on March 19.
Needless to say, the main reason for this absence of students appearing for the class-XI exams is the tension surrounding Nandigram after the government crackdown there on March 15. Many students have lost their parents and near and dear ones, and do not feel they would be able to sit for the HS exam. There is also others, who are terrified about the March 15 incident and afraid to venture out of their homes. Imdadul Islam, an HS candidate from Garchokroberia High School, died of bullet injuries on March 15. He was fighting to save his fathers 2-bigha land, which was their only source of sustenance.
Considering the gravity of the situation, the Secondary Teachers & Employers Association today met Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and urged him to shift the exam center for the HS exam out of Nandigram. “What would have the HS Council done if a place was hit by a big natural disaster? They would have had to change the exam venue. The situation in Nandigram is not favourable for students, and we think it should be changed. The Governor too feels that the issue needs to be addressed,” said Ratan Lashkar, the associations’ ex-general secretary.
West Bengal Council for Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE) officials did not agree. “The absence today was only one per cent of the total student’s strength taking the exam from there. This is normal especially when it is the class-XI exam. We do not feel this to a harbinger for the HS exam. We are not changing the exam centres at Nandigram for the HS exam,” said Dinen Munshi, deputy secretary (confidential) of WBCHSE.
The students and the teachers of IIT Kharagpur, too have reacted to the Nandigram incident. They have sent a letter to Chief Minster Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi condemning the incident. “We have no words to condemn this dastardly act. We express our solidarity with the brave villagers of Nandigram, in their hour of crisis,” said the letter. It further stated that the students and teachers were deeply distressed by the ‘murderous act of the police force’. The students also rejected the government’s logic of killing people in the name of restoring governance.
mou.hindustanimes@yahoo.com