Odisha MLAs Flag Concern In Assembly Over Teachers’ Crunch In 5T Schools

Bhubaneswar: Alleging that many schools in Odisha are plagued by acute shortage of teachers, members cutting across party lines voiced their concern over the issue in the Assembly on Wednesday.

Training their guns at the state government, opposition legislators observed that high schools are being transformed, but shortage of teachers hampered the studies there,

Raising the issue, senior Congress legislator Suresh Routray said, “5T schools across the state are painted in the colour of the BJD.”

Citing the state of affairs in some schools of his constituency, Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra pointed out that one can imagine how schools are being transformed when one of the schools still requires nine teachers.

BJD MLAs including Sanjib Mallick and Amar Prasad Satpathy alleged that many schools are facing teachers’ crunch while legislators including Subash Panigrahy(BJP) and Nrusingha Sahu and Sudhansu Parida (BJD) claimed that payment of teachers in many 5T schools have not been released.

Replying to their queries and allegations, School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dass assured the members that there would be no shortage of teachers as the process to recruit 20,000 primary school teachers is under the process.

As for the pending dues of teachers, he said he would discuss the issue with collectors concerned.