JAGATSINGHPUR: Amid reopening of schools in phases post the lockdown, the decision of the School and Mass Education Department for the merger of 145 schools in Jagatsinghpur district has met with strong resistance from parents and activists.
Protests have intensified in different villages since the past week, with guardians protesting the merger policy and refusing to send their wards to other schools which are 1 km away from their villages.
Nuagada Primary School under Redhua panchayat of Raghunathpur, with a strength of 23 students, is merged with Bartira Upper Primary School which is alleged to be more than a kilometre away.
Villagers demonstrated in front of block education office, alleging manipulation of distance between the schools.
However, Block Education Officer (BEO), Raghunathpur Rajashree Sahu said that distance between the two schools is in fact 700 metres and refuted all allegations of any discrepancy in the merger policy. Similar instances have come to the fore from other places.