Balasore: The Odisha Adarsh Vidyalay Yojana in Balasore has run aground. The state government had set a target to set up 12 such schools in 12 blocks in 2016, but only one project has been made operational in the last three years, a report said.
Two other schools are run on a temporary basis on two school premises. The work of nine other Odisha Adarsh Vidyalays has not yet started.
Questions were being raised by various quarters as to when these remaining schools will be started in the district.
The state government conceptualized the model schools on the lines of Kendriya Vidyalayas where students will study NCERT syllabus.
The new schools will have Class 6 to Class 12. Apart from text books education, students in model schools would be taught co-curricular activities like information, communication and technology (ICT), art and craft, song, dance and sports.
The students of these model schools are entitled to free education and all facilities like mid-day meals, uniform and text books free of cost like other state government-run schools.
When the yojana was launched, it generated a lot of hopes among people to get quality education for their wards, but their hopes are petering out with such school projects lying in limbo.
In the first phase, the government targeted to set up OAVs in Remuna, Nilagiri and Oupada blocks while Rs 5 crore was sanctioned for each school.
Though the first OAV was opened in Remuna, the project is being run in a haphazard manner. Academic session was started two years ago, but the school has not been made fully operational with infrastructure lying halfway.
Students upto Class-VIII have taken admission, but accommodation has been the main issue as hostel has not been set up. Besides, posts of several teachers are lying vacant.
The OAVs were started at Oupada and Nilagiri, but they have no buildings of their own. 160 students are taught in two schools.
Adequate number of teachers have not been appointed in the two schools while retired government school teachers have been appointed to look after students.
Given such situation, one can guess how far the students will avail of quality education as had been promised by the government. OAVs have just started on pen and paper at Simulia, Basta, Khaira and Jaleswar.
On the other hand, the projects have failed to make much headway due to land hurdles at Soro, Bhograi, Bahanaga, Balasore and Baliapal blocks, sources in the district education office said.
Meanwhile, Collector K Sudarshan Chakraborty and district education officer Pramod Kumar Sarangi have visited sites for these schools in other blocks while the administration has been striving hard to put things in place as soon as possible.
