JAGATSINGHPUR: Amid the prevailing Covid scare, hundreds of teachers are engaged in conduct of door-to-door survey of out-of-school children. Most of them are not even equipped with adequate safeguards even when they have to visit every household.For nearly 5,000 primary school teachers and Cluster Resource Centre Coordinators (CRCCs) of Jagatsinghpur district, this has not exactly gone down well as they have been entrusted with the task of surveying children in the 6-18 age group starting Monday with a June 19 deadline to complete the process.
Each teacher has been assigned 100 houses and also asked to collect signatures from the heads of the households that are surveyed. Teachers complain that the fear of coming in contact with diverse sections of people during the survey has increased their anxiety. Many, on conditions of anonymity, confide that in the absence of masks, face shields, gloves and sanitisers to take care of personal hygiene, it is difficult to risk one’s life especially when the coronavirus outbreak is at its peak in the district.
While the officials have conducted training in virtual mode keeping their safety in mind, apathy towards the plight of the teachers has drawn flak from the teachers’ community. Last month, Odisha Secondary School Teachers’ Association (OSSTA) and All Odisha Primary Teachers’ Association had submitted a memorandum to the State government urging teachers be declared as Covid warriors and their vaccination carried out on an urgent basis but to no avail.
Set to be conducted in the months of April and May, the out-of-school children survey process was deferred after the issue was raised by teachers but other than that, no attention was given to the lack of safety measures and directions were given to go ahead with the exercise.Treasurer, All Odisha Lower Secondary Teachers Association Jaya Prakash Panda said despite eight teachers succumbing to the virus and many others infected, the department seems to turn a blind eye to their plight. “With vaccination remaining a problem and absence of necessary safety gear, teachers are being compelled to put their lives at risk as they are not at liberty to opt out of the survey,” added Panda.
District Education Officer Niranjan Behera said the survey is part of the national programme and the State has no choice but to abide by it. “Unless directed by the Centre, we can’t halt the survey. In a bid to keep the teachers safe, we have asked them to not visit the households that have Covid patients, just to be safe,” added Behera. The district has recorded more than 20,422 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.