‘HARASSMENT’ BY GURUKUL SCHOOL PRINCIPAL Students walk 20 km to take up with Collector

As many as 200 students of the Telangana Gurukul Boys’ Government School and Junior College at Beechupally, under the Erravalli Mandal in Jogulamba Gadwal district, walked nearly 20 kilometres to reach the District Collectorate. They came together to explain their issues to Collector BM Santosh and represent their grievance.
The students poured out their grievances to the Collector, saying that the food in the hostel was of poor quality, and when they brought this to the principal’s attention, he targeted and physically assaulted them. They also accused the principal of expressing anger towards the parents who came to visit the students. The students further alleged that the principal was suspending students and selling the seats in the Gurukul school to new students. The students demanded that the principal be suspended.
They further complained to the Collector that the principal, Srinivas, was harassing them and demanded action against him. In response, the students marched from Beechupally to the Collectorate in Gadwal, covering a distance of nearly 20 km
on foot, passing through the school and college premises, to present their issues.
The students spoke to the media, explaining why they had taken to the streets. They accused the principal of consistently harassing them on the pretext of discipline and even physically beating them. They claimed that study materials were not being distributed. They said that the teaching was of poor quality. Furthermore, they stated that there were not enough toilets for all the students in the Gurukul School, and they were forced to relieve themselves in the open, near trees or hills. They also alleged that they were not served meals according to the menu. The students emphasised that their main objective in walking to the Collectorate was to bring these issues to the Collector’s attention.
Additionally, the students accused the principal of selling the vacant seats in the 6th grade and mentioned that they had evidence of this. Gadwal MLA Krishna Mohan Reddy interacted with students at Veerapuram and spoke to the Collector on the phone. Although the police and revenue officials from Itikyala tried to intervene and gather information, the students continued their march. Since about 200 students were marching, the police were deployed to ensure security.