Karwar: A physical education teacher, who took 14 students, including 12 girls for a college function, left them at the venue, inviting the fury of parents.

The hungry students, walked 6 km and then caught a bus with help from villagers to reach their homes in Mundgod. Deepak Lokannanavar, PE teacher of Government Junior College in Mundgod, took 14 students, five from eighth standard and nine from ninth standard, to the taluk-level Bharat Sevadal programme held at Katur village near Mundgod, on Friday.

In the noon, the teacher returned to Mundgod from Katur, but he forgot to handover lunch coupons to students. When these 14 students went for lunch, they were denied food as they did not had food coupons. They waited for their teacher till 4 pm. As the teacher did not return, the students were left with no choice other than walking back home as they did not even had bus fair with them.

The students decided to walk till Mundgod, which is about 14 from Katur. When they reached Hirehalli village after walking about 6 km, the people who noticed them enquired about their whereabouts. As the students narrated their story, the villagers came to their help. They gave them money and made arrangements to help them reach Mundgod.The incident came to light on Saturday morning after parents of 14 students gathered at the college and questioned the teacher and college authorities. They demanded action against the teacher. After apologising to the parents, Deepak Lokannanavar, the teacher, told them that he had to come back to the college for an urgent official work. However, the college faculty managed to convince the parents and assured them of reporting the incident to higher officials.

BEO Basavarajappa said: “There were no food coupons and the teacher asked students whether they require money. But, students refused to accept and walked a few miles. Later, they caught a bus to reach Mundgod. However, the department will look into the incident.”