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Funds meant to popularise science remain unutilised

KORAPUT: It is a mission aimed at igniting the little minds, making learning of science more interesting and inculcating scientific temper.

But, the objective may not be achieved, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities concerned.

Consequently, some Rs.1.77 crores is lying unused with 355 primary schools in the district.

The amount was provided by the government to enable purchase of Teaching Learning Equipment (TLE) worth Rs. 50,000 by each of the New Upper Primary Schools (NUPS) in the district from the 2004-05 academic year.

The scheme is mired in controversy right from the beginning.

Vigilance cases were booked against some officials of the SSA/DPEP on the charge of misappropriating huge amounts.

Sources in the Vigilance Department say that bills for Rs. 50,000 were shown while, in fact, items worth only Rs. 12,294 were purchased.

The findings led imposition of curbs in the purchase of the equipment, defeating the purpose in the process.

“The district administration has imposed a blanket ban on the purchases by the schools under the scheme,” says Padmini Pathi, Gender & Pedagogy Coordinator of the DPEP.

“The headmasters have been asked to wait for the letter of approval from the district office for purchasing the kit,” she adds.

It has been three years since the funds have been lying in the passbooks of the schools and the authorities concerned are yet to take any decision on the issuance of the approval letters.

This being the sunset year for the DPEP, there are apprehensions that the amount may have to be surrendered unused if the authorities do not take a decision on allowing the schools to purchase the kits at the earliest.

The laudable scheme introduced by the government, which helps children, particularly those in the remote areas of the district, learn science with charts and models faces uncertainty due to various factors.

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