JAGATSINGHPUR: State Government’s tall claims of improving education standards by merging schools having less than 10 students seem to have lost its ground in Jagatsinghpur.
As reports of faulty exercise stream in, locals and parents of students of an affected school Bata Belar primary school in Batakandha villages in Erasama block have been compelled to hire a tutor to take classes on the verandah of the locked institution.
The school under Bamdeipur panchayat has 16 students but was closed this year and merged with Kankardia Primary School under the same panchayat after officials of School and Mass Education Department wrongly reported that it had less than 10 students.
Villagers alleged that it was faultily merged with a school that is three kms away. No transportation facility was made by the department to carry students to the new school and they would have had to walk down a heavily dilapidated road to reach the school. “How can we force our children who are in the age group of five to 10 years to walk such long-distance on the treacherous road every day?” questioned a local.
Although villagers requested the department authorities to look into the issue, there was no response. Sarpanch of Bamdeipur panchayat, Gopinath Samantray said with no other way out villagers decided to teach the students by hiring a private tutor who takes classes on the verandah of the school.
A similar arrangement was in place in Dhuanpada Primary School under Naugaon block last year. The School and Mass Education Department merged Dhuanpada Primary School under Naugaon block with Korua UP School after officials reported that there were less than 10 students. The primary school had an enrolment of 21 students in the last academic session.
Protesting merger, villagers engaged a private tutor to teach the 21 children. Department authorities intervened and children were admitted to the new school this academic session.
Block Education Officer of Erasama, Jayant Kumar Ray said during the survey, the officials concerned found attendance in the schools to be less than 10 which is why they were merged with other nearby schools. As many as 162 primary schools have been closed in the district due to the shortage of students.