BALASORE:No drinking water facility, no toilet and no hostel for girls. The Government-run Teachers’ Training Institute at Bagudi in Soro block of Balasore district, which has been producing teachers for over five decades, has been a glaring example of neglect of education sector.
Poor infrastructure has virtually crippled the functioning of the institute for over two years. Classrooms are way too small to accommodate the students and the boys’ hostel cries for immediate renovation.
Set up in 1961 as Government Bachelor Training (BT) School, this institute latter functioned as Elementary Training (ET) and Certificate Training (CT). A course in Diploma in Elementary Education was included last year, increasing the number of students.
The institute, having a student strength of 150, is managed by only three faculty members including a headmaster and a teacher each in Arts and Science. Four teacher posts - two in Arts, one each in Sanskrit and Physical Training - are lying vacant for over two years.
On the administration front, the post of a clerk is vacant and it is managed by a teacher.
While official quarters for teachers remains a dream, the hostel for boys’ is in a dilapidated condition. After the students of the institute resorted to agitation on March 13 last year by locking the institute, the district administration assured them of fulfilling their demands. But, nothing tangible has been done yet.
School authorities said though the Government has increased the student strength from 50 to 100 in Diploma course, no step has been taken to develop the existing infrastructure.
Headmaster Bhimasen Biswal said though Rs 97.9 lakh was sanctioned in 2013-14 for construction of a 4,000 square feet multi-purpose auditorium, extra classrooms and boundary wall, the work is yet to start.
“After making several rounds to the local PWD office at Soro for construction work, I recently met the Executive Engineer at Balasore. Now, a contractor has signed an agreement for the work order of Rs 59 lakh. But, no work order has been issued for the rest amount of Rs 39 lakh,” he said. The institute authorities said the situation is slated to complicate in coming days after the admission of 100 more students for this session.