Students at the Calcutta Armenian Philanthropic Academy yesterday declared a three day hunger strike to protest the expulsion of one of their fellow classmates back to Armenia and the ongoing problems they say exist at the school. The school administration has yet to comment on the student strike, but one of the teachers told The Telegraph newspaper that the authorities are trying to reestablish order and improve the conduct of the students.

The striking students are also demanding that they be allowed to continue their studies at other establishments, an obligation assumed by the church Founded in 1821, the Armenian Philanthropic Academy offers free education to Armenian students up till the tenth grade and financial aid to community students to continue on at local government-run colleges. Students say they have now been prohibited from applying to the better colleges in Calcutta and other cities. According to Hetq sources, Father Khoren, the school administrator, told the students to wait until Thursday before taking action but that his request went unheeded.