JAJPUR: Even as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is inaugurating smart government-run high schools across the State, inadequate teaching staff in Jajpur raises questions on the programme’s effective implementation in the district.
As per reports, as many as 761 posts of teachers are lying vacant in higher secondary schools in the district. Of these, posts of art teachers have maximum vacancies at 243, followed by 190 in science, 145 in Sanskrit, 89 in Hindi and 60 in PET besides 34 posts of headmasters.
Official sources said, there are 443 high schools in the district of which 217 are government-run. Of these, 65 high schools in 10 blocks are being developed in the first phase of the government’s 5T High School Transformation Programme with an aim to provide state-of-the-art facilities including e-libraries, advanced science labs, smart classrooms, etc. Another 165 high schools will be included in the second phase.
While work in all the 65 schools is going on in full swing, many are grappling with vacancies. Four of these selected schools have reported 32 teaching post vacancies. The century-old Zilla high school has the highest eight vacancies against sanctioned 22 teacher posts. Similarly, eight out of 17 sanctioned posts are lying vacant in Biraja High School. Purusottampur High School and Prahallad Chandra High School each have seven vacancies against sanctioned 16 posts.
This has concerned students and parents alike who feel just upgrading school infrastructure will not translate into quality education in absence of adequate teachers. “What is the value of smart classes when there are no teachers? Will students see only colourful school buildings, smart classrooms, e-libraries, advanced science labs etc, with no one to teach? asked a parent Ramesh Pradhan.
Contacted, District Education Officer Ranjan Giri said the State government has already started taking steps to fill vacant teacher posts in high schools. All vacancies would be filled up soon, he added.
Sorry State
443 total high schools in district
217 government high schools
761 Total vacancies in teacher posts
34 Vacant headmaster posts
65 Schools being transformed in 1st phase
32 Vacancies in 4 such schools