New Delhi:
At a school in Delhi, students have a new duty roster besides classes - they take turns at gatekeeping, as the guard is on leave.
At the Ramjas Senior Secondary School in west Delhi, students also double up as staffers and run errands for teachers, which includes bring tea.
"We have a roster. Today, it's my turn," said one of the two students manning the gate while his classmates were studying.
On spotting the NDTV crew, a school staffer rushed to the gate and asked the children to head back to class.
He claimed, "No, no... children are not asked to stand at the gate. I had some work so I asked one of them to stand guard for five minutes."
The principal, CP Kothiyal, also claimed that the students had been asked to watch the gate just for five minutes, to stop children from leaving.
But students do have to leave the school premises, whether there is a gatekeeper or not, to fetch tea for teachers. One of them was seen getting a cup for the library teacher. Asked where he was getting it from, he, told NDTV, "From outside."
The teacher claimed students were only helping out as some staffers were on leave.
Confronted with the evidence, the school principal admitted. "It is wrong."
Just ahead of Teachers' Day on Friday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to address thousands of students, this school is one among many that have little to celebrate.