JAJPUR: Highlighting the dismal state of rural education in Odisha, the classroom doors of a Jajpur school transformed under the government’s much-hyped high school transformation programme are being used as blackboards for students.A video of Hingula government high school at Antia village in Dharmasala block has once again brought the state’s sub-par education infrastructure under scanner.
In the video which went viral on social media on Tuesday, a teacher is seen writing questions on the classroom door in absence of a blackboard. The school was upgraded under the government’s 5T Initiative in November last year. At least 500 students are enrolled in Classes I to X of the school.
Sources said the incident took place during the half-yearly examinations of Classes I to VIII in the school. As per the notification, students arrived at the school to appear the examinations on Monday but to their surprise, question papers were reportedly not given to them.
When the news spread, parents and guardians reached the school and demanded to know why the students were deprived of question papers. The school authorities pacified them by saying questions would be written on the blackboard. The students later took the examination after teachers wrote questions on the classroom doors as there were no blackboards in the school.
Headmistress Saraswati Panda said they failed to provide question papers to students as the school did not receive the same from Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan authorities. “We have two smart classrooms. As the school has more than 400 students in Classes I to VIII, we made seating arrangements in all the classrooms. Since the entire school building does not have a blackboard, the teachers had to write the questions on the classroom doors,” she said.
District education officer (DEO) Ranjan Kumar Giri said, “We have issued a show cause notice to the school headmistress for her carelessness and dereliction of duty. She has been asked to reply within three days failing which necessary action will be initiated against her.”