Video Editor: Varun Sharma
Amid the coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing lockdown, students who are stuck in hostels live with a constant state of worry, of what they will eat and how will they study, among other difficulties.
Ravi, a student from Bihar’s Chapra, currently in Patna to prepare for his SSC examinations, says, “Because of the lockdown, we are under immense pressure. Even if we head out to eat, the authorities are strict with us, they beat us with sticks or force us. We are thrashed.”
Most of these students come from humble backgrounds, and conduct tuition classes for pocket money to keep them going. Because of the lockdown, the classes have been suspended and so is their source of income. But their families are also facing financial constraints.
“I am not getting any money from home because my father is a farmer. If he had a government job, he would have sent money. Irrespective of what the situation is, you get your salary (in a government job). But, when you are a farmer or a contractor then you know how much delay there can be from government’s side in releasing the payment. This disease spreads when people come in contact. But, if you don’t come in contact, then how will you make payments?”Shubham Kumar, Student
This has also impacted their studies. Classes and libraries being shut have only compounded their difficulties. To add salt to their misery, the SSC examinations are “prone to rigging.”
“SSC is an exam which is prone to rigging. Sometimes, papers are leaked, sometimes there’s this fraud or that fraud. The situation had gotten better in the previous few years but because of the lockdown, everything is cancelled... everything has been destroyed. Our exam was at that exact time, so we stayed back here.”Samit, Student
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