Rayagada: School education has gone haywire in Rayagada with the posts of block education officers (BEO) in seven out of 11 blocks of the district lying vacant. As there are not enough BEOs, the four BEOs are forced to manage and shoulder the education system in all 11 blocks. Moreover, the post of a BEO in one of the blocks is set to go vacant after this month. The four BEOs with enormous responsibilities in their hands have not been able to do justice to the affairs of all the schools in 11 blocks of the district.
With hardly anyone to look after, attendance has declined in many schools while lack of adequate number of teachers has hit scores of schools. In this situation, lack of adequate number of BEOs to manage the affairs of the schools and get the problems redressed by the district administration has left the school education in the district in shambles.
Reports said that the posts of permanent BEO is lying vacant in Gudari block since 2017, Kashipur since 2021, Kalyansinghpur since 2021, Sadar block since June 2022, Chandrapur block since 2021, Gunupur block since February, 2022 and for the last two months in Bissam Cuttack block. Currently, only four blocks namely Padmapur, Muniguda, Ramnaguda, and Kolnara blocks have permanent BEOs. All four BEOs have been given additional charge of their nearest block as well as their own blocks. With enormous responsibilities in their hands, the four BEOs are not able to properly look after their duties.
Moreover, the BEO of Kolnara block will retire this month following which all the schools in 11 blocks will have to be managed by only three BEOs. It is also alleged that many schools in the district lack adequate number of teachers while in many more schools they report late for duty. It is not humanly possible for the four BEOs to manage the day-to-day affairs of all the schools.
As a result, the management of the schools, teachers and other employees and supervision of classroom teaching have been hit. Moreover, providing education materials and information to the teachers has also been affected. It is alleged that teachers in remote Chandrapur, Kashipur, and Kalyansighpur blocks leave for their homes after taking their attendance without teaching the students as no BEO is there to keep tabs on them. The teachers are neglecting their duties without having any fear of action as the DEO, ABEO and CRCCs are also not touring the schools and conducting any inquiry. When contacted, district education officer (DEO) Purna Chandra Bariha said that this problem can be resolved if the senior teachers in Class-II ranks could be promoted. Mahendra Bibhar, headmaster of Manikjhola Government UP School under Rayagada Sadar block said that the absence of the BEOs has hit the education system.
The problems of the schools are not getting resolved on urgent basis while they are not even getting their salaries in time, he lamented. Balaji Panigrahi, headmaster of Panganpadar Government UP School under Gudari block said there is no one to take stock of the problems of the school. Balakrushna Sahu, convener of school management committee of Gudari Block Colony Primary School said the posts of BEO and ABEO are lying vacant since last five years
