Raipur, March 13: Fear of rebels has prevented students in Chhattisgarh from sitting in board examinations, especially in the red dens.

While a handful of students appeared for their Class X board examinations from Todenaar — one of the worst Maoist-affected villages in Bijapur, none appeared in the Class XII board exam this year.

Forty-two students were supposed to appear in the Class XII boards from here.

District education officer D.C. Patel admitted that not a single student from Class XII appeared in the board examinations from the Todenaar centre.

According to him, number of students appearing in the board examinations in the newly carved Bijapur — the epicentre of Maoist movement — had plummeted sharply this year.

“The rebels are forcing students to give up higher education, so that they have no option but to join them,” said a senior police official. He said that ironically the red “revolution” was putting the future of hundreds in Bastar in the dark.

The officer also claimed that number of young men and women had joined the rebel forces, thus bringing down the number of students even further.

Meanwhile, teaching fraternity in Bijapur stressed that red violence had affected many young careers. In the past two years, rebels have blown up more than 70 schools in Bijapur and Dantewada, that led to academic activities being abandoned mid session.

“All students appearing for their Class X boards in Todenaar failed last year, as Maoists unleashed a reign of terror on the eve of the tests which ended up disturbing each of them (students),” said a school teacher.