Baripada: Agitating students pursuing integrated BEd and MEd in North Orissa University at Takatpur in Mayurbhanj district resumed their padayatra to Bhubaneswar Tuesday protesting the administration’s failure to keep its assurances made November 5.
Their students alleged they are ineligible to sit OTET, OSSTET and CTET examinations meant to help them qualify for teachers’ posts.
Students led by Duryodhan Behera walked to Betanoti by 5 pm when police dissuaded them from undertaking the padayatra. The student leader said they would resume padayatra Wednesday morning.
Behera said they had resumed the padayatra as the administration failed to keep its promise to sort the issue out.
They also boycotted the programme of Governor Ganeshi Lal at the university Tuesday.
Although the students had taken up the issue with the university authorities, the district administration and the Higher education department, no step has been taken to sort the issue out.
Notably, a group of 120 students and their leaders had undertaken Ahimsa Padayatra in protest against the apathy of the authorities.
When the padayatra culminated at the MPC Autonomous College, Baripada, sub-collector Dibyajyoti Parida and superintendent of police PS Purusottamdas had stopped them midway and tried to placate them. Student leader Duryadhan Behera lamented, ”We have long been reminding the university authorities, the higher education department, the higher education minister, Union ministers Pratap Sarangi and Dharmendra Pradhan about our problem, but to no avail.”
Students pointed out that Collector Vineet Bhardwaj had issued a written promise (2018, 54/19) to the students, stating that their problem will be sorted out within three days.
In his letter to the government, the Collector said the higher education department has been intimated about the students’ issue.
Meanwhile, the student leaders have warned that they will again take out the padayatra if the issue is not resolved in three days.
“The written assurance of the Collector has been futile and we had to resume the padayatra to Bhubaneswar,” said the students
PNN
