KHALANGA: Two secondary schools bearing the same name - Bal Madhyamik Bidhyalaya - and the same address - Sworgadwari VDC - are being made available for the education of this far-flung district. Students of these schools are a confused lot, as they don't know which one they should choose to go.

In ward no- 2 of the Sworgadwari VDC, the school bearing the name Bal Madhyamik Bidhyalaya is located. As one goes little further toward no -3, another school, of same name, identical size and stature, takes everyone by surprise.

The only difference is the student strength. At ward no - 2, Dharampani, there are 400 students. While there are five hundred in ward no- 3, Adebas. But this does not explain which school is legal.

As confusion gripped the students, they staged a sit-in in front of the District Education Office (DEO), today, protesting the government's recklessness in giving the same name to two different schools.

However, DEO officials informed that they were helpless as the case has been forwarded to the Supreme Court.

District Education Officer Shiva Pandit said,'' We cannot decide the case once it is in Apex Court.''

Though the local court in Tulasipur had ruled the legality of the school in Dharampani, ward - 2, the disgruntled villagers of Adebas had filed a case at the Supreme Court.

The school which was established in 2032BS in the name of Bal Sanskrit Secondary School at Sworgadwari was later moved to Adebas area in 2048 BS. Later, another school was established in the name of Bal Secondary School at Dharampani. An all party meeting held in DEO last year had decided to shift the school to Adebas. But the locals of Dharampani have protested it, claiming that it was illegal to do so.

Loknath Adhikari, resident of Dharampani, accused that the District Administration Office DAO did not follow the court's decision as he was under political pressure. The DAO had also blocked the salary of Dharampani teachers, pending for eight months. The DAO has charged Head Master Rabilal Khanal of the school for speaking in favour of the locals of Dharampani.

Meantime, member of the School Management Committee of Adebas, Minraj Rana said, 'The school should be established in Adebas as it is in the proximity for students.''

“It's for the Supreme Court to decide the case, and as far as our conscience tells us, the court will decide the case in our favor,'' he added.