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After Gen Z, India’s Gen Alpha demands education reform

From Al Jazeera · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Ongoing story
  • One hundred and twenty-two pupils in Uttar Pradesh refused to enter their classrooms until officials promised to build a new school building.
  • The protest followed a 2023 incident in which part of the school wall fell on and severely injured a girl.
  • Similar protests have taken place in at least 10 Indian states amid wider youth anger over education and employment.

The 122 pupils at a government primary school in Samuhi Bhatpurwa, Uttar Pradesh, refused to enter class. Their demand was simple: officials had to assure them that a promised new school building would finally be constructed.

Some of the children were only six years old. Wearing red-and-white checked uniforms, they stood outside the classrooms, while some, including eight-year-old Priya, held India’s national flag. The existing structure is old and badly damaged. Part of the school remains in rubble after a wall fell on a girl in 2023, severely injuring her.

The children had asked for a safer building since then, but said nobody listened until they launched their protest on August 22. As news of the strike spread, block education officer Deepak Awasthi visited the school and told the pupils that construction would begin soon. The children then agreed to return home as evening approached.

I am happy. We will get a new building. We dread that the school building would one day fall. Its condition is poor.

· PriyaThe eight-year-old pupil described the children’s fears after officials promised a new building.

“I am happy. We will get a new building. We dread that the school building would one day fall,” Priya told Al Jazeera. She said fear of the building’s condition prevented the children from concentrating on their studies, which was why they protested together.

The action formed part of a wider wave. Children in at least 10 states, including Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, have held similar protests since late July. The demonstrations have been reported mainly in rural areas, where government schools have deteriorated through neglect.

The protests add a new challenge for India’s education system and for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has also faced pressure from young people over examination paper leaks, unemployment and underemployment. Earlier protests by Gen Z activists in New Delhi demanded accountability after leaks linked to the deaths by suicide of dozens of young Indians. The government’s response, which portrayed protesters as extremists backed by foreign forces, widened their questions about those in power.

The fear does not let us concentrate on our studies. That is why we all protested.

· PriyaShe explained why the pupils refused to enter their classrooms.
About this summary

Originally published by Al Jazeera in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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