A troop of over 20 monkeys has turned a primary school in Jalpaiguri into their personal playground, frequently disrupting classes and leaving teachers and students in distress.

At Dangapara state primary school, located near Denguajhar tea garden, about 6km from Jalpaiguri town, classes have been replaced with chaos. The monkeys arrive before 10am and refuse to let teachers and students in.

“We reach school on time, but sometimes we simply can’t enter. The monkeys literally take over the school,” lamented Ashima Saha, the school’s headmaster. This ordeal has persisted for two months, leaving classrooms eerily empty.

With only 17 students and four teachers, the school was already small, but the monkey menace made it almost empty.

Almost all parents, fearing for their children’s safety, have stopped sending them to school. The attendance has dropped to a mere five to six students a day.

The monkeys have chewed through electrical wires and disrupted midday meals, forcing students to take their food home.

For students who do show up, the experience is nerve-wracking.

“If we try to drive them away, they chase us. Even the teachers stay out of the classrooms,” said student Ankush Das.

At times teachers take classes in the open.

Frustrated parents like Rina Biswas are now considering moving their children to other schools.

“If the monkey menace continues, I will have to transfer her to another school,” she said.

The school’s troubles don’t end there. Funds for maintenance have been cut in half, leaving administrators struggling to repair the damage caused by the invaders.

Dwijapratim Sen, the divisional forest officer of the Gorumara Wildlife Division, said that the monkeys were probably searching for food.

“If the school authority seeks our help, we will intervene,” he said.