TV
Parents and villagers of Binakera in Odisha’s Kandhamal district locked the local government upper primary school on Saturday, demanding the immediate appointment of teachers. The protest was triggered by an acute staff shortage that has disrupted regular classroom teaching for several months.
School Faces Severe Teacher Shortage
Binakera government upper primary school, which serves students from Class 1 to 8, has around 50 enrolled students. However, the school is currently functioning with only two teachers. Previously, the school had five teachers, out of which two retired and one teacher was transferred. The remaining staff has been struggling to handle all eight classes, severely impacting the learning environment.
Guardians Stage Sit-In Protest
Protesting the administration’s inaction despite repeated complaints, villagers and parents locked the school gates and staged a sit-in demonstration outside the school premises.
One of the parents shared her frustration and said, "We have locked the school due to lack of teachers in the school. Previously, there were five teachers working at the school. Two of them have retired and another was transferred. We want teachers' appointment at the school at any cost. We had complained multiple times but no steps were ever taken for the reason we were forced to take this drastic step of closing the school."
BEO Assures Teacher Appointment On Monday
Responding to the protest, the Block Education Officer (BEO) of Phulbani assured that a teacher would be appointed urgently. The protest was withdrawn after his commitment.
The BEO said, "The Head Master retired so we were soon going to appoint a teacher in this ongoing transfer period. We were aware of the issue and were going to appoint one teacher very soon. But now, we will ensure the appointment on Monday on an urgent basis."
