JAGATSINGHPUR: A Class V student, Bikash Sahoo, of Jota village and other students were allegedly asked to clean the toilet in Nehru Memorial UP School by the teachers.The boy’s father, Bibekananda Sahoo, had sought the intervention of the district and block education officers to conduct a probe into the matter.“My son has refused to attend the classes as he was forced to clean the toilets every day along with other students. I have urged the district and block education officers to take stringent action against the teachers,” said Bibekananda, who retired as a peon from the same school. According to sources, there are 184 students in the school under Salijanga panchayat of Jagatsinghpur block. The school has four toilets.
Asking the children to clean toilets in schools is violation of Right to Education Act.
Meanwhile, the in-charge headmaster, Mohammed Nazir, said, “I have committed the mistake of making students clean the school toilets. We (teachers) have decided not to commit this mistake again. We are taking steps to bring back the students to the classrooms. We have sought the intervention of local sarpanch and guardians to resolve this matter,” Nazir said.
Block Education Officer Bijayalaxmi Dash has sought to settle the matter at the local level. “The school headmaster has realised his mistake and apologised. I have also directed him to resolve this issue with the local sarpanch and the school management committee,” she said.
However, the irate parents in the village demanded stringent action against the teachers by the School and Mass Education department.