Incendiarism in School Bus

By: Prem Prasad Sigdel

There was havoc yesterday that I got call from bus driver who had gone to bring students at 8.00am. He called me from the way that one of the school buses was torched by some gang of students. I didn’t hear any such rumor before; if they had declared bandh (strike) it would have been known sometimes already. The driver asked me what he should do; I suggested going on the way because I hadn’t heard any such rumor before. However, it created a kind of havoc to all the persons who had heard that.

The driver transferred cell phone to a junior police officer to explain about the incident. The police explained to me that one of the organizations, Young Communist League had done such activity. They hadn’t declared bandh already and it happened all of a sudden according to the police. He stated that they had their duty to inform us and we had to decide what should be done. My decision was that we could go ahead and I delivered the message to the driver. The other fact was that First Terminal Examination has been going on so we had to conduct the examination at any cost.

Till the bus didn’t return to the school, I had been undergoing mental torture. When the bus was in the school premise, I felt released. Torching flame in school is a heinous activity which the students had done that. Actually they aren’t students in reality. The underlying fact is that they have bargained for donation. I guessed that the so-called students have gone to ask money in the name of donation and the school would be unable to pay for the money so they set fire in the school bus. Some people have such job that they go to ask money in private schools if they don’t have anything to do in the name of organization. When they haven’t got money they would set fire in school bus.

On the other hand, I have seen on facebook that the authentic organization had released press statement stating that there was no connection of the organization with the incident. On the other hand, the new came that the students claimed that they belonged to the same organization and some leaflets had been also found from the spot. The question came who the people were. Actually, it’s a good pretention from their side. Their cadres have been habituated to raise money in the name of organization; when they didn’t have money they would go to school for money. If they didn’t get money, they would do such activities as they are above than law.

This is a good example of the failed state. The state can’t arrest these persons who have been involved in such activities. Such persons have the habit of asking money with schools threatening administrators. If schools haven’t given money, they would do these sorts of activities. It is evident that private schools are in the quagmire of threats, extortion, violence and so on from some gangsters. They didn’t have any sympathy towards students and their future; rather they are ready to exchange the future of innocent children with money.

I have seen these persons staying idle around tea shops or pubs. They have been staying throughout the day without jobs. Certainly, they need money be sustained and they have targeted to private schools. They have the habit of getting money doing nothing. The government can’t punish them as they have been covered with politics. These people think that they have owned all state mechanism in their fist. Thus they have courage to do such activities.

The motto of students’ union should have to instruct or facilitate schools to promote educational quality. They can demand to frame policies with the government to make education more practical to deal with the existing problems of the country. In our country, the task of such Unions seems to raise money; if not, they set fire in the school bus.

It is clear that the system of the country is out of order. Unless the state and society along with political parties can’t improve such condition, we would be far back in the process of development. Education is the key to development either it may be given by private or public. Everything depends on the government policy and people should be assistant or advisor to the government. Anyway, we shouldn’t involve in such activities which has no single positive message at all.