Mathili: A total of 40 students of Kutunipadar are yet to experience the taste of visiting school. Kutunipadar is a small village of Badadural Gram Panchayat under Khairput block in Malkangiri district. Incidentally, the school exists on paper but doesn’t function at all, a report said Thursday. Sources said that reports are being made about students studying in school, mid-day meals being provided to them. They added that on paper two teachers have also been appointed in the school, but are never seen. Villagers of Kutunipadar informed that the school building was destroyed during the 2014 ‘Cyclone Hudhud’.
Despite repeated pleas, nothing has been done by the district administration to set up the school again. They added that students are missing out on basic education and staring at a bleak future. With no school to go to, the students are now forced to do other chores like blasting stones and collecting Kendu leaves while some are earning a livelihood by tending to cows and bullocks. The teachers who have been appointed are also getting their salaries every month without doing anything.
Sources informed that the BDO or the Education department authorities are not aware of the developments. When the kids were asked to comment on the situation, they said they are busy doing household work as they do not have the necessary facilities for primary education in their village. When the president of the school committee Shankar Kandi was asked about the situation, he said that the children from Kutunipadar and the nearby village of Nuaguda were completely dependent on the school which has now gone defunct. Kandi pointed out that among the 40 students, most are engaged in other works. He stated that the district administration has no idea about the 40 students, who are deprived of schooling.