In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest state, students have been protesting for nearly a month over grievances related to their schools.
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Since the student protests in Delhi, reports of student demonstrations regarding school and college-related issues have been emerging from various parts of the country. In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s largest state, students have been protesting over school-related grievances for nearly a month. Such incidents have been reported from the capital, Lucknow, as well as from Unnao, Kannauj, and Hamirpur. In Lucknow, students even blocked the road. Similarly, in Unnao, students staged a protest to present their demands to the government. In Hamirpur, students marched to the Collectorate to shake the administration out of its slumber, while in Kannauj, they locked themselves inside their hostel.
Regarding their demands, the students took to the streets to call for an end to the shortage of teachers and to seek better food, drinking water, functional fans, clean campuses, and improved infrastructure.
Students Block Road in Unnao Over Grievances
The most recent incident occurred in Unnao district. On Wednesday, hundreds of students from the Jayaprakash Narayan Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in the Nyotani Nagar Panchayat area (Hasanganj) blocked the Mohan intersection. They were protesting against poor food quality, drinking water issues, a shortage of teachers, and the principal’s behavior. Carrying placards, the students arrived at the intersection around 7:00 AM and staged a sit-in. The protest disrupted traffic, leading to long queues of vehicles.
The students alleged that the food quality at the school was poor and that there were inadequate arrangements for drinking water. They stated that their studies were suffering due to the shortage of teachers. They also expressed dissatisfaction with the principal’s conduct.
Upon receiving the information, police and administrative officials arrived at the scene and attempted to end the protest through dialogue. Officials from the Social Welfare Department also visited the site to listen to the students’ grievances. However, the students remained adamant about continuing their sit-in until their demands were met and insisted that ministers from the Social Welfare and Education departments come to the site. Officials assured the students that their grievances would be addressed, prompting them to call off their peaceful protest.
Protest over teacher shortage in Lucknow
On August 14, around 9:00 AM, students from the Jay Prakash Narayan Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Lucknow stepped out of the school and staged a protest on the Buddheshwar-Mohan Road in the Para area. They alleged that a shortage of teachers was adversely affecting their studies. Upon receiving the information, a police team from the Para station arrived at the scene and spoke to the students, discovering that they were also distressed by certain irregularities within the school.
The police persuaded the students to end the protest and return to the school premises; subsequently, the road was cleared, and traffic flow was restored. The students were then taken to the school’s meeting hall, where education officials and teachers held discussions with them.
Police stated that an adequate force, led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) of Kakori, had been deployed at the site, and the situation remained peaceful.
Students protest poor food quality in Kannauj
Meanwhile, students at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Kannauj locked themselves in their hostel rooms on August 13 to protest against the poor quality of food. The protesting students—reportedly from classes 10, 11, and 12—were upset about being served substandard meals.
The students claimed that whenever they complained to the principal and other authorities, their concerns were ignored rather than taken seriously. Frustrated by this, the students decided to take a stand, declaring that their patience had run out and they were ready for a decisive confrontation.
Later, following assurances from the Kannauj District Magistrate, the students agreed to eat in the canteen. The District Magistrate also promised to conduct a surprise inspection to check the quality of food being served.
March for better roads in Hamirpur
Protests were not limited to grievances regarding facilities within school campuses. On August 11, around 35–40 school students from Hamirpur, accompanied by their parents and guardians, marched five kilometers to the Collectorate carrying the national flag. They were demanding repairs to the road leading to their school.
A 300-meter stretch of the approximately 1.8-kilometer-long road had become almost completely impassable during the monsoon. Work on a large section of the road had also stalled, with the lack of Forest Department clearance cited as a major hurdle. This protest attracted attention well beyond the district.
Demand for Better Classrooms in Fatehpur
On July 28, around 1,000 students (from classes 6 to 12) of Sarvodaya Inter College in the Kishunpur town of Fatehpur gathered outside their school. They carried placards, banners, and portraits of Bhimrao Ambedkar. They demanded clean drinking water, repairs to dilapidated classrooms and leaking roofs, functional fans, and basic furniture.
The protest ended after Rakesh Kumar, the District School Inspector of Fatehpur, met the students and assured them that their grievances would be addressed. Action was taken following this intervention: fans were installed in classrooms, RO water filters were provided, and the students’ other demands regarding facilities were also met.
Principal Lal Bahadur Singh stated that the students had organized the protest themselves. Singh added that all their demands had been fulfilled in accordance with their needs.
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