Arunachal: Over 90 girls walk 65 km overnight to protest teacher shortage

In an emotional display of determination, over 90 students from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Nangnyo village, located in Arunachal Pradesh's Pakke Kessang district, undertook an overnight march of nearly 65 km to demand urgent recruitment of teachers in their school.

The students, dressed in blue school uniforms, began their journey on Sunday evening from Nyangno village and arrived at Lemmi, the district headquarters, on Monday morning. Video footage of the students walking through the night, many carrying umbrellas and backpacks, circulated widely on social media. While the clips remain unverified independently, they have stirred significant public response.

Led by Class 11 and 12 students, the protestors carried placards with messages such as 'A school without a teacher is just a building' and raised slogans highlighting the lack of subject-specific teachers, particularly for Geography and Political Science.

The girls stated that repeated appeals to both school authorities and the education department had gone unanswered, leaving them with no option but to resort to this protest march.

Following the protest, officials confirmed that the school education department is scrambling to address the issue.

“The students were protesting the acute shortage of teachers in the school,” said Deepak Tayeng, deputy director of school education (DDSE), Pakke Kessang.

He added that the students had not informed the hostel warden or school administration prior to the march. The school’s headmistress acknowledged the shortage of teachers in the two subjects, but insisted that instruction in all other subjects was adequately staffed and that half-yearly syllabi had been completed.

KGBV Nangnyo was established in 2011–12 and is operated by the Sei Donyi Charitable Trust, an NGO working to improve access to education for girls from disadvantaged backgrounds in remote and underdeveloped areas.

According to a senior department official, the Education Department had recently appointed two contractual teachers to support the school. However, the shortage of qualified subject teachers persists.

DDSE Tayeng stated that the department had held a walk-in interview last month to fill three teaching positions and was awaiting higher-level approvals. In light of the protest, he confirmed that appointments for Geography and Political Science teachers have now been approved.

“The department has approved the appointment of subject teachers following the students’ protest,”Tayeng said, adding that the students were briefed on the latest developments and were in good health despite their long journey.

With PTI inputs