Dearth of teachers takes a toll on education in Angul 

ANGUL: Though the State Government is spending crores of rupees under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to address the problem of inadequate number of teachers in Government-run schools, it does not seem to have had the desired effect. Take, for example, Kumurisingha Upper Primary (UP) School where two teachers have to take care of 104 students from Classes I to V.

The two teachers have to share the burden of teaching all five classes in the school. Even as the situation is known to district education authorities, nothing has been done with the parents threatening agitation for the redressal.

According to the villagers, the students are securing poor marks in exams as the school is perennially short of teachers. The school has five classes and 104 children from different villages are reading in the school. Though there was another teacher in the school, he rarely visits the school as the teacher has been given additional charge in the district office. So teaching in the school is in disarray, they alleged.

While several pleas to the District Coordinator of SSA yielded no results, parents have decided to resort to strike. In the managing committee meeting, which was held last week, members expressed concern over the state of condition of teaching in primary school. Admitting acute shortage of teachers in the school, DPC Niranjan Sahu said, “I have received a memorandum from the villagers in this regard and steps are being taken to appoint teachers in the school.”