Jamshedpur, July 8: Students of eight minority schools in West Singhbhum district are crying foul over the government’s biased attitude towards them.

As against the government’s policy of distributing free books to students till Class VIII, the school authorities claim not to have received a single textbook in the last three years.

Significantly, the school has a good academic record with students topping the district for the second consecutive year this time. These schools catering to Ho community students have adopted a policy of collecting used books from students to distribute them to the next batch.

“But many books are torn and unfit for reuse,” said Father Saleth Soosai, headmaster of St Xavier’s High School at Lupungutu, Chaibasa.

Other minority schools in the district are SPG Mission Girls High School, SPG Mission Boys High School, Luthren High School, St Augustine School, Manoharpur, St Xavier’s Balika Vidyalaya, St Teresa’s School, Bandgaon and Urdu High School, Chakradharpur.

Non-payment of teachers is also a major issue. Sources confirmed the release of a grant of Rs 90 lakh that the district education officer is yet to release.

Officials of minority schools confirmed that the district education office has absolute control over the sanctioned grant, which is demanding an eight per cent share of the total amount against its release. “We have been asked to submit the amount at the earliest against which we would get our grant,” said a school principal, on condition of anonymity. Teachers have been asked to pay Rs 10,000 to receive their salaries.

However, the education officer, West Singhbhum, U.N. Sharma denied all allegations. The state human resource development ministry could not be contacted for comment.