Students and parents lock school over teacher crunch in Odisha 

KENDRAPARA: Demanding appointment of more teachers, students and their parents locked Sushree Devi High School at Kalikapur village in Rajkanika block here on Friday. The school is being reportedly run by only two teachers, against the sanctioned strength of six, since January, 2022. At least 110 students from Class VI to X are enrolled in the school.

Protesting the teacher shortage, the students along with their guardians also staged dharna in front of the school’s main gate. A guardian, Anusaya Rout alleged that only two teachers are handling over 110 students for around nine months. “The shortage of teachers is affecting the quality of education in the school. Our repeated requests to the authorities concerned to address the issue have fallen on deaf ears,” said Rout.

The agitating parents further alleged that the school has no proper toilet facility due to which students, especially girls, are facing a lot of problems. “Girl students are forced to use the open space as the two dirty toilets have no water connection. The authorities should immediately fill up the vacant teacher posts and build proper toilets in the school,” said Sitarani Jena, mother of a girl student. Protest will be intensified if the demands are not met soon, she added.

Contacted, additional block education officer of Rajkanika Kailash Chandra Sahoo said, “I have informed the district education office about today’s protest. We will take steps to appoint more teachers in the school soon. The authorities had constructed two toilets in the school five years back. But the toilets have no water connection. We will make provision of water supply soon.”