Keonjhar, Dec 11: Tension prevailed at Dhanei Nodal High School in Khaliamenta village under Ghasipura block of Keonjhar district after students staged a sit-in outside the campus demanding the transfer of Headmistress Jyotsnarani Baral. The protest erupted following allegations that the Headmistress forced assistant teacher Anita Patra -- who is the mother of a six-month-old infant -- to vacate a room she had been using to care for her ailing child.

According to Anita Patra, she returned to duty after six months of maternity leave and sought temporary use of a vacant room on campus so she could continue teaching while providing nebulisation therapy to her child, who requires the procedure six times a day.

"The Headmistress declined my request from the very beginning without paying heed to my hardships. Though I went ahead with staying inside the room as I had no other choice", Patra said.

“Last Saturday at around 3pm, the Headmistress barged in and removed the bed out of the room on which my baby was sleeping."

"Today, she ordered me to leave the school premises immediately. When I requested her to consider my situation, she said, ‘Do not create a scene here’ and asked me to get out,” Patra alleged.

As Patra was leaving with her child, students noticed the incident and intervened, after which they began a demonstration demanding immediate action against the Headmistress.

Students further alleged that this was not the first such incident, claiming she had earlier taken away a room allotted to a Sanskrit teacher who travelled nearly 75 kilometres to the school.

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The matter has created unease on the campus, with students insisting that their demand for the Headmistress’s transfer be addressed without delay.