Bolangir: Resentment brewed among the guardians of schoolchildren following reports that the students of a government-run upper primary school at Kandhabahali village under Turekela block in this district were reportedly made to clean toilets.
Based on the complaint from parents, the District Education Officer Subodh Das ordered an inquiry into the incident.
“I have told the block education officer to conduct an investigation. A team of officials was also sent for investigation,” he said.
According to parents, the incident happens every Saturday as part of the cleanliness drive in the school.
Parents said their children complained that they had been asked to clean the toilet using the utensils (thali) in which they were served their mid-day meal.
One of the parents said his daughter complained she was asked by the teachers to dispose of the human excreta in the toilet by using the mid-day meal plate.
“After returning from school, my daughter told me that she and other students were told to clean the waste (human excreta) in the toilet with the mid-day meal dishes (thalis). We have complained against this, but no steps have been taken in this regard,” a guardian said.
The school staff denied the allegation of using thalis for cleaning. But, the school principal Himanshu Sekhar Majhi admitted that there was a cleanliness drive in which both students and teachers took part.
