Sanjeev Acharya
Even though Gen Z may be the talk of the entire country, Madhya Pradesh is one step ahead in this matter. Here, Gen Alpha, that is, children born between 2010 and 2012, are staging protests at various places.
They have made life difficult for the government and administration. School-going children have shown unprecedented activism by staging protests on the streets across the state to raise their educational demands.
Schoolchildren Protest Across Madhya Pradesh
From Bhopal to Dhar, Sagar, Vidisha, Chhatarpur, and Ujjain, these children are staging strong protests everywhere for their legitimate demands. Wearing school uniforms, with tears in their eyes and anger on their faces, these children are receiving tremendous public support. Understanding the seriousness and sensitivity of the situation, the Chief Minister, ministers, collectors, education officials, and everyone are being compelled to listen to them.
From Ujjain, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, to the capital, Bhopal, Vidisha, the home district of former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and even the tribal area of Kukshi, these schoolchildren have launched protests.
Ujjain Students Protest School-Shifting Decision
In Ujjain, 300 girl students surrounded the Collector’s office in protest against the government’s decision to remove a government school from the middle of the city and shift it to a distant location.
As soon as the Chief Minister got news of the incident, he immediately directed the administration to listen to the children’s concerns. For now, the decision to shift the school from Sarafa to Daudkheda has been put on hold.
Similarly, 6–7 such cases have occurred across the state.
Vidisha Students Protest Bus Fare Hike
In the Sironj area of Vidisha, the parliamentary constituency of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, children protested and raised slogans over an increase in the fares of private buses that take them to their school – “Stop looting children, reduce the bus fares”
Bhopal Students Protest School Merger
In the capital, Bhopal, 400 students of Regional School staged a protest against the government’s decision to merge the school into Kendriya Vidyalaya.
Dhar Hostel Students Raise Concerns Over Facilities
The most notable incident took place in the tribal-dominated Kukshi area of Dhar district. Here, tribal girl students climbed out through the windows of their hostel late at night and marched towards the police station. When local residents saw the girls protesting on the road at night, they also accompanied them to the police station. There, the girls put forward their problems.
They said that the hostel has only 50 beds, whereas 140 girls are staying there. Everyone is facing difficulties. The drinking water is contaminated, and the food being served is also of poor quality. The students returned to the hostel only after receiving an assurance from the administration that action would be taken. They say that
If we complain about all this to the warden, the warden says, you people stay quiet. Why should we stay quiet? The government should solve our problems.
Chhatarpur Students Stop Minister’s Convoy
In Chhatarpur, on August 14, schoolchildren stopped the convoy of Minister of State Dilip Ahirwar in the middle of the road. When the minister saw the children surrounding him, he got out of the car and spoke to them. The children said that the road leading to our school is filled with mud. We are unable to go to school. On this, the minister assured them that the road would be built soon.
School Infrastructure and Hostel Problems Behind Protests
This generation, known as Gen Alpha, is actually protesting over problems such as the road to their school, teachers not being available there, or the availability of drinking water, toilets, and the quality of food in hostels. There is no politics behind this, and the government and administration have become alert because the media is also giving prominence to the students’ protests.
