The Class IX students of a government-run school in Jajpur district of Odisha protested against the absence of Sanskrit teacher in the school. The students resorted to expressing their displeasure through their answer sheets during a test on the subject on Saturday, November 4, as per a report by The New Indian Express.
But what did the students do?
The students of Prahalad Chandra Brahmachari High School at Adanga under Jajpur block wrote, "Kindly do not expect too much from us." The students' qualm was that since there was an absence of a Sanskrit teacher in the school they have attempted to write whatever they knew.
The protest was channelled through a test, which is a part of their half-yearly examination. Reportedly, 95 students took the Sanskrit test on Saturday.
As per sources, it has been known that not a single class in Sanskrit has been held in the school for the last five months due to the absence of a teacher in the subject. A student of the school told The New Indian Express that they have not been taught anything about the subject since the classes began. "How will we write the answers?" the student said, as they had to attend the test without any knowledge of the subject.
Dearth of teachers
As per reports, the Sanskrit teacher and a trained graduate teacher of Prahalad Chandra Brahmachari High School were transferred to other schools over administrative reasons six months back.
It has also been informed that classes in Sanskrit, History and Geography have not been held since the reopening of the school in June.
Rabindranath Kar, a guardian, said that the initiatives taken by the Odisha government to transform the high schools under the 5T initiative, has failed since they failed to provide teachers in Sanskrit, History and Geography. This would inadvertently affect the students of Classes IX and X, who have not been taught anything in these subjects.
"If teachers are not provided soon, students of Class IX and X will suffer the most as the annual examination is nearing," he added.
Government oblivious?
As per The New Indian Express, the local sarpanch and the school managing committee (SMC) had met the Jajpur collector and district education officer (DEO) over the vacant teacher posts, but they claim that no step was taken to alleviate the issue.
When Jajpur DEO Nibedita Pani was contacted, she said that she was unaware of the matter and assured an immediate inquiry into the matter.
"I am unaware of any such incident. I will conduct an inquiry and let you know," Pani added.
