With placards that read ‘Return Our Headmaster’, students and parents protested in front of a High School at Guchaguda village of Nabarangpur district in Odisha. Why? They were demanding the withdrawal of the transfer order of their headmaster. This happened on December 17 and several slogans were raised against the administration's decision to transfer their beloved headmaster.

This is what Bimala Gond, a student, had to say about Headmaster Vijay Kumar Maharana, as per a report in Odishatv.in, “Sir loves students like his own children. We will not allow the school to function till the order is revoked.” She also called him a good human being who only raised the standards of education at the school. “He also ensured that we don’t let our studies be disturbed irrespective of the circumstances,” added Rahul Gond, another student.

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An agitated local shared, “We shut the school from yesterday. The school is already facing a severe shortage of teachers. We thought the vacancies will be filled soon. On the contrary, the transfer order of the Headmaster came as a shocker.” He also said that they will continue with their protest until the transfer order is withdrawn.

Ishwar Majhi, Block Education Officer, informed that the memorandum with the details of the situation has been sent to the District Education Officer and they have even requested the villagers to allow classes to continue because physical classes had already taken a long setback due to the COVID-induced lockdowns.

But both the parents and students seemed determined in their purpose and were adamant to remain put and continue their protests, even for a week if need be.