Mayurbhanj: In a rare show of solidarity, scores of students of the Mixed High School at Baripada Laxmiposhi on Monday walked 4 km to meet the Mayurbhanj District Collector and apprise him of the pathetic condition of academics in their school, especially the shortage of teachers.
The pathetic condition at the school is revealed by the fact that the institution has only three teachers (including the headmaster) for 339 students. No doubt the teachers are unable to complete the syllabus of any class. The students and their parents are worried that the FA 1 (formative assessment) exams are scheduled to begin on July 28, but the students are not even halfway through their syllabus. What is worse is that the headmaster of the school is also absenting for many days now.
The students as well as their parents have been raising their problems with the Education Department for a long but all their pleas have fallen on deaf ears so far.
Frustrated with such neglect and apathy of the Education Department, the students decided to take the matter up directly with the District Collector Vineet Bharadwaj. On Monday, they walked 4 km to the District Collector’s office but failed to meet him.
Learning about the students’ plight, the Additional District Education Officer reached the Collector’s office and heard their complaint. The students left for their homes only after he assured them to take up the matter with the higher authorities and fulfill their demands.
Meanwhile, the school itself is in a peculiar position. Started by the Executive Officer of the Subarnarekha Water Project, it is yet to come under the state Schools and Mass Education Department. As a result, the students here do not get the benefits availed by many other schools in the state. The Executive Officer of the Subarnarekha Water Project has written several times to the state Education Department to take control of the school, but nothing has been forthcoming.
