Raipur, May 5: Their acts of violence are unlikely to have won the Maoists too many friends, but school students in a Chhattisgarh district could be tempted to think otherwise.

For, even if the students disapprove of the ways of the rebels, they have the red brigade to ?thank? for getting promoted without even writing a single word.

In an unusual move, the Raman Singh government has granted ?general? promotion to more than 10,000 students from four development blocks of Dantewada ? barring those appearing in the board examinations ? as Maoist activities did not allow them to complete their studies.

Realising that the examinations may not serve the desired purpose, the Dantewada administration had mooted the proposal and forwarded it to the government in March.

In the proposal, the district authorities pointed out that many primary and middle schools in the interior areas of Dantewada had to be closed down due to the Maoist menace. Also, hundreds of students had to leave their villages and take shelter in relief camps after the state-sponsored Salwa Judum campaign started in June last year. More than 50,000 villagers are living in the camps fearing Maoist retaliation.

Taking note of the Dantewada administration?s suggestion to promote the students, the government ? which had earlier thought of making those staying in relief camps write their papers along with candidates appearing in the supplementary examinations ? decided to grant general promotion.

?But students appearing in the board examinations for Class V and Class VIII will not benefit from the general promotion,? tribal welfare department secretary M.K. Raut told The Telegraph today.

The order in this regard was issued last evening, the official added.

The department, which manages schools in the tribal areas, had identified 10,727 students from 246 primary and middle schools in four development blocks of Dantewada district as eligible for general promotion.

Of the four blocks, Usoor has the highest number of students, 3,900 from 85 schools, who have been promoted without having to write the annual examinations.

The other blocks are Konta (2,000 students from 51 schools), Bijapur (2,900 students from 70 schools) and Bhairamgarh (around 1,600 students from 40 schools).