Row over free laptops

ARIYALUR: Tension prevailed in Government Ponparappi School near Sendurai on Wednesday after former students and their parents locked the classroom in which laptops provided by the government were stored. The control of the room was with the protesting parents for a while as they took the keys away.  

Police reportedly told school administration to not issue laptops till Monday. Later in the day, the villagers alleged that police and school administration broke open the doors. 

Kannan Mani, father of a student, said the key was still with them. “Without our knowledge, they broke open the doors and took out the laptops. No officials assured us as to when will our children get the laptops,” he added. 

Though the government had issued the required number of laptops, the students allegedly did not receive them last year. Now, the district administration is planning to give them to Class 11 students as well, they claimed.