A 15-year-old Class IX student’s suicide “under pressure to sell raffle tickets” in Darjeeling has put the scanner on this practice of hill schools to raise funds.
The boy hanged himself at his house in Darjeeling around 6pm on Friday evening. His family members alleged that the school authorities had hauled up the boy for being unable to sell one of the four raffle ticket sheets given to him.
“My brother was recently even pulled out of the school assembly for being unable to sell one of the four raffle ticket sheets. He was looking disturbed for the past few days,” the brother of the deceased alleged. “He was under pressure to sell the raffle tickets.”
School authorities, however, claimed they did not exert pressure on any student to sell all raffle tickets and had pulled out students who had not sold the tickets in the assembly just to keep count “several days ago”.
“The raffle was drawn on August 15 and all issues related to its sale were long over. The boy did not seem depressed. He was a good dancer and was teaching fellow students dances for the upcoming Teachers’ Day celebration. He had instructed students to be present on Monday for the final dance rehearsal,” claimed a teacher.
Police have arrested the principal. The court of the chief judicial magistrate in Darjeeling on Thursday sent him to 14 days of judicial custody.
The incident has put a scanner on the raffle-sale practice by hill schools.
“Almost all the private educational institutions draw raffles and this is a huge burden on the parents,” said a parent.
A single ticket is priced anywhere between Rs 20 and Rs 50. One raffle sheet has between 20 and 50 tickets.
Most hill educational institutions issue raffles during Dusshera and Diwali periods when everyone is in a festive mood. But raffles are issued at other times also.
“This practice started in the hill schools some 30 years ago. Even some top educational institutions issue raffles, citing various issues such as raising funds for infrastructure development, among others,” said an elderly resident of the town.
Many parents said they almost always end up paying for the sheets of raffle tickets given to their children.
“Sometimes, our children can’t sell the tickets, but are reluctant to go to school without selling all the tickets. So it’s the parent who ends up paying for the tickets. Those with two school-going children face much financial pressure,” said a parent.
Biswash Chhetri, general secretary of the All India Gorkha Student Federation, demanded raffle tickets be banned from hill schools.
“We request all educational institutions to stop raffle ticket draws. Else, our team will take on the school administration and initiate legal action,” said Chhetri.
The matter is being looked into, a source in the district administration said.
