Students, parents hassled as entry restricted in Kamptee cantt

Nagpur: Students of St Joseph’s School, a 166-year-old institution inside the Kamptee cantonment, were left harried as they reached to collect the Class X marksheet and leaving certificate on Monday.
Following Covid, the local military authority (LMA) has imposed restrictions on movement within the cantonment. Entry is only allowed on Monday and Thursdays.
Being a Monday, entry was allowed but the students and parents had a tough time getting permission, which was withdrawn when the marksheet distribution was mid-way, said sources.
Established in 1854, St Joseph’s is the first school set up in the cantonment. The teachers later came out of the gate and carried out the work, said the parents.
“As many as 25 to 30% of the parents had to go back as they did not carry identity proofs along. Some students were also turned away by the sentries because they were not wearing school uniform,” said a school teacher requesting anonymity. Soon videos of the cantonment gate went viral in which the parents were seen insisting with the sentries to be allowed inside.
The move left the residents of the cantonment and parents miffed. A senior teacher from the school told TOI it was due to army's orders that entry of students had to be stopped.
"Early in the day, students were allowed to come in for collecting the documents. But then army officials sent a message that so many students can't be allowed to come in," said the teacher. There are 265 students enrolled in Std X. "Since army was not allowing students to come in, we went to the main entrance and started distributing the documents to ensure that no one was inconvenienced. Almost 90% of the students have been handed over the documents, as the others did not show up," the teacher added.
A source said a month ago, school had to distribute the books by setting a table outside the cantonment gate.
Rakesh Kanojiya, a resident of the Kamptee town whose child is in the primary school, said restrictions had prevented parents from going to the school even for paying fees or getting books. “The online classes started 20 days ago, but I had to pay the fees before that. Only because of the restrictions I could not reach in time and the school does not have online payment facility,” he said.