CEC J.M. Lyngdoh might actually have done Ajit Jogi some good by banning the distribution of his schoolbags. Jogi’s bags are already coming apart at the seams, throwing up fresh questions on the quality of the bags, let alone the motive behind their distribution. Vishno, a class IV student at village Banrodh, flung away his jhola a month ago when the Chief Minister went around distributing schoolbags embossed with his photo. So did his classmate Yogeswari, among the 62 tribal kids who got the bags before the CEC cracked down on the scheme. The two are sorry now — the new bag is tearing at the seams and their classmates make fun of them. They hide away the bags lest anybody should see them but are now left with nothing to put books in. Complaints are pouring from other schools as well. In neighbouring Banspara village, attendance went up by at least 15 per cent in the wake of the distribution of the bags. Somewhat like the mid-day meal scheme, school authorities point out, only that Jogi’s photograph on the bags has lost colour and the satchels are ugly reminders. The man instrumental in the campaign, Chief Secretary S.K. Mishra, is in a fix. ‘‘ I will write to district collectors to send reports about the schoolbags. We will withhold payments, if this is confirmed.’’ Little good it would do to around 208 schools in Nagari development block where the bags were a temporary boost to reluctant students. ‘‘There is a political motive hidden behind distribution of these bags. Why did not Jogi think of it earlier? Again, what is the guarantee that he will send more bags as these are tearing apart in less than a month?’’ said Shakuntala Bai, a village panch. Teachers in Banspara, Mardaputi, Khanadah and Kundrah said the scheme had jacked up attendance and the letdown could have an adverse effect. Even if the scheme is continued, the bags have become a huge disappointment. ‘‘Some of the students are coming to their classes religiously. It’s this bag that has acted as a prodder,’’ said Phander Kumar, a teacher. ‘‘It’s like buying a new dress for a child. Students are not used to such gifts so they were really happy,’’said Rameshwar Dewangan, vice-president of local Shiksha samiti at Banspara. What worries some parents, however, is what will happen to the campaign if Jogi is not voted back to power. Nearly 80 per cent of the children in tribal areas have no uniforms or books. Hardly five per cent of them have a pair of shoes. The schoolbags, they believed, was only a starter to these essentials.
