Now, Puri school teacher caught selling textbooks of students as scrap

A few days after a cluster resource centre coordinator (CRCC) in Khordha district was suspended for allegedly selling school textbooks as scrap, a similar incident has come to the fore in Puri district.  

A teacher of Matha Kankuda Government Upper Primary School under Kapileswarpur Gram Panchayat in Puri district was caught red-handed by the villagers while selling textbooks of students as scrap.

The teacher has been identified as Basudev Swain.

As per reports, the school had a stockpile of textbooks in all the subjects for students from Class I to VIII. However, Swain was caught by the villagers while he was allegedly selling textbooks during the summer vacation.

“I was at home when I got the information that textbooks meant for students are being sold as scrap by a school teacher. I rushed to the school immediately to take stock of the situation,” said Gadadhar Nayak, President of the School Committee.

When asked about the reason behind selling the textbooks meant for the students, Swain said that he wanted to spend the money on school development work.

“Some books were left after distribution to students. A motor in school was not functioning properly. I intended to repair it by selling the books. I have always worked for the development of the school. I don’t have any other intention. Now as per the wish of the villagers, I will return the books to higher authorities,” said Swain.

Meanwhile, Assistant Education Officer Mamata Mishra said that proper action will be taken following an inquiry.

“We have got information about the incident. Proper action will be taken against the teacher following a proper inquiry,” said Mishra.