‘Can’t eat with Dalit, SC, ST’: Primary students bring separate plates for mid-day meals in UP’s Ballia
“We ask students to sit together and eat but they go separate ways as soon as we leave. Maybe they’ve learnt it from home,” the principal said.
Some students at a primary school in Rampur were found to bring plates from their home for mid-day meals and eat separately from those belonging to the SC, ST and Dalit communities.
According to one student from the school, “Anyone can eat in the plates available in schools, so we bring separate plates from home.”
P Gupta, Principal of Rampur primary school said the practice prevails despite school authorities asking students not to do so.
“We ask students to sit together and eat but they go separate ways as soon as we leave. Maybe they’ve learnt it from home. We’ve tried a lot to teach them that they’re all equals but students from upper caste try to stay away from those of lower-caste.”
(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
