At least 100 upper caste students have boycotted classes in a government school here after their parents allegedly objected to Dalit women cooking mid-day meal.
The students of government-run primary school in Sanamarichapalli village have stayed away from classes since Tuesday after officials of the tehsil, block and the school and mass education department failed to convince their parents.
Moreover, there was also a drop in attendance of Dalit students with hardly 30 turning up for classes, school teachers said.
The trouble started on January 19 when a section of villagers stopped the preparation of meals by Dalit women and locked them up.
While the upper castes were opposed to Dalit women cooking the mid-day meals for students, others wanted the practice to continue, official sources said.
Police have arrested a member of local village education committee.
