Berhampur: A headmaster in charge of a state government-run upper primary school in Odisha’s Ganjam district has been suspended for negligence in duty and alleged involvement in financial irregularities, officials said Sunday.
The district administration Friday suspended the in-charge headmaster of Upper Primary School, Landajuali in Aska block and has also held up the monthly salaries of six teachers of the school and the concerned centre resource cluster coordinator (CRCC), the officials said.
After finding some financial irregularities, shortage of mid-day meal rice and lack of maintenance of the attendance registers of the students, a show-cause notice was issued to the headmaster Suman Bartiya March 30 and was asked to reply to the show cause in three days, said Munrani Mohanty, block education officer (BEO). Aska.
“We have suspended him Friday as he failed to reply satisfactorily,” Mohanty said.
She said during their visit to the school March 23, they found the attendance register was not maintained for the entire year of 2025-26.
The class teachers of the school said the attendance registered was with the headmaster of the school. The school authorities are supposed to draw the rice for the MDM as per the attendance of the students.
The school has 350 students from Shishu Vatika (pre-schooling) to Class VIII. During the verification, they also found some irregularities in school funds and shortage of at least 20 bags of rice for the MDM, she said.
The salary of the class teachers held up because they did not bring notice to the higher authorities about the non-maintenance of the students’ attendance records.
The CRCC, who was supposed to verify the school documents and to bring the notice of its irregularities to the higher authorities, also failed to discharge his duties. Hence, his salary was held up from March, said the BEO.
PTI