MALKANGIRI: Agitation of outfits in undivided Koraput district over posting of junior teachers in their home districts made its way into Malkangiri as aspirants from other districts were not allowed into Butiguda primary school in the town to participate in the contract agreement signing process on Monday.
Members of several organisations, demanding posting of junior teachers from undivided Koraput in their home districts, staged a protest in front of the school. They drove away aspirants from districts other than undivided Koraput and even threatened to destroy their educational certificates. Police had to be called in to restore order in the school.
Sources said as many as 555 candidates have been posted as junior teachers in the district. While the agreement signing process for 308 candidates was scheduled on the day, that of others is slated to be held on Tuesday.
A candidate who had come all the way from Bhubaneswar was peeved over the development. He said the hiring was done by Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) at state level and it is not justified to prevent candidates from other districts from joining their place of posting.
Meanwhile, the District SC and ST Sangha joint action committee sent a letter on posting of candidates from undivided Koraput in their home districts to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi through collector Ashish Ishwar Patil on the day.
Sangha’s president Jara Sabar Madhi said the recruitment of junior teachers must be conducted as per districts of the candidates. He said the Sangha will join the undivided Koraput bandh on October 4 against the state-level recruitment of junior teachers.
District education officer Biswanath Sahu told The New Indian Express that the entire recruitment process of junior teachers including advertisement and online counselling was done by OSEPA and only the agreement signing process was slated in the town as per the state government’s directive.
He said the collector has been informed and a decision is awaited. Of the 308 candidates slated to sign their agreement on the day, 220 were able to do it.
Stir in Nabarangpur
Umerkote: Members of various social outfits in Nabarangpur on Sunday staged a protest demanding appointment of locals as junior teachers in the district. The protesters said only candidates from undivided Koraput should be posted in the district.
Several other outfits demanded cancellation of contract agreement process which was underway at the Mission Shakti hall in Nabarangpur. Applications were invited for filling up of 860 junior teacher posts in the district.
While the candidates arrived at the Mission Shakti hall for signing the agreement, those from outside undivided Koraput district were allegedly not allowed to enter the hall by members of District Union Forum, South Odisha Adivasi Mahasangh and others.