Kolkata: Education institutes in Bengal are worried after the local administration started requisitioning schools and colleges to lodge the 240 companies of central forces, which will be deployed here from March 1. Education minister Bratya Basu flagged the issue, stating students would be significantly affected by the forces’ accommodation. “The Centre should think about the future of children.” An officer said in the first phase, 110 companies of CRPF, 55 companies of BSF, 27 companies of ITBP, 27 companies of SSB and 21 companies of CISF would be deployed. “This advance deployment is aimed at maintaining law and order in Bengal to quell possible protests after the final electoral roll is published on Saturday,” the officer said. Twelve companies of central forces will camp at institutes in Kolkata. Local police stations have alerted several schools in Kolkata and North and South 24 Parganas that central forces will start entering campuses on Saturday.St Paul’s High School headmaster Nipanjan Mandal said, “Two companies of central forces will arrive at our school on Sunday. A major portion of our building will be occupied indefinitely. Academic activities will be disrupted, and we do not know how to hold HS practical exams in March. The first summative exams are likely to be held in April.” The headmaster of another central Kolkata school said they declined the request as class 11 exams were on.Several school heads pointed out the situation was becoming difficult as they faced financial losses during this period every time, and repairs for any damage became the institute’s responsibility. Jogesh Chandra Choudhury Law College principal Sunanda Goenka said, “After the central forces arrive at our campus in a day or two, it will not be possible to run classes, though administrative work will continue. The 9th-semester exams will be held in March-end, but if the forces stay on, we do not know how it will be held. The university must look into it.”Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri College principal Pankaj Kumar Roy said teaching would be hampered till the elections. “We plan to hold online classes. Our college is also a centre for CU’s 3rd-semester exams. We will urge CU not to allot more than 200 examinees.”
