Bhubaneswar, March 14: On the occasion of Odia Classical Language Day, aspirant students staged a protest demanding the appointment of Odia language teachers.
Questioning why the Odia language is being neglected in Odisha, they demanded that, as per the government’s earlier announcement, a dedicated Odia teacher should be appointed in every high school. The protesters stated that in other states, teachers for their respective mother tongues have already been appointed. For example, Bengali teachers have been appointed in West Bengal and Assamese teachers in Assam, along with similar appointments in many other states.
Although Odia was granted Classical Language status in 2014, the protesters alleged that the government has been adopting a delaying approach in appointing separate Odia teachers in schools of Odisha—the first state formed on a linguistic basis. While separate teachers are being appointed for subjects like Sanskrit, Hindi, and Urdu, they claimed that neglecting the mother tongue would lead the state toward decline.
They also questioned the provision of allocating 25 percent of posts for Odia teachers from the Arts teacher posts during Leave Training Reserve (LTR) recruitment. Instead of dividing the 69 Arts posts, they demanded the creation of a separate cadre for Odia teachers to ensure that the language is properly and accurately passed on to future generations. They urged the government to take responsibility in this regard.
The aspirants emphasized that appointing dedicated Odia teachers in all high schools is a matter of Odia identity. They demanded that the government take immediate steps to ensure the recruitment of Odia teachers in every high school.
Among those present at the protest were Manisha Samal, Janardhan Sethi, Asit Kumar Sahu, Prabhas Chandra Tolotia, Bibhuti Mallik, Thakur Mallik, Thakur Bishi, Nilanchal Nag, Abhijit Pradhan, Manas Ranjan Sahu, Kabita Kar, Pritishree Khatua, Swagatika Swain, Urmila Patra, and others.
They further stated that although the government had made announcements earlier, it has forgotten those promises after coming to power in the state.
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