BERHAMPUR: Some 183 schools in Gajapati district have no regular teachers. They are being managed by Shikhya Sahayaks, the voluntary teachers appointed on contractual basis. But, a State Government directive clearly states that no school should function with Shikhya Sahayaks alone.

Gajapati district coordinator of Sarva Shikhya Abhiyan Sukadev Padhi, while accepting the existence of the problem attributes it to the vacancy of some 500 regular teacher posts in the district.

Naxal-hit area

He says that the district administration is taking steps to rationalise the posting of teachers to different schools in the district before the commencement of the next educational session so that at least one regular teacher is posted to every school in the district. In Gajapati district there are 1,021 schools. Schools that are managed by Shikhya Sahayaks are in remote areas of the naxal-affected tribal district. Sometimes, regular teachers transferred to these schools approach the State Administrative Tribunal and get a stay on the orders. The villagers where the schools are managed by Shikhya Sahayaks are also frustrated. Those in Krushnapur village under Raigada block locked up village primary school for 13 days when they came to know that the transfer of the only regular teacher to their village has been cancelled.

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