Nabarangpur,11th Aug 2025: At the Sangrami Lakshmichandra Das Press Club premises , the All India Anti-Corruption Organization held a public hearing on corruption in the District Education Department.
Following complaints of widespread corruption by the District Education Officer (DEO) being reported to the state committee, a fact-finding committee was formed under the leadership of the organization’s state convener and lawyer, Subrata Kumar Nanda. The committee included State Secretary Shyamsundar Panda, Koraput District President and senior advocate Ashoj Mishra, Rayagada District Coordinator Radhakrishna Pattnayak, Nabarangpur District Convener Ishwar Rao, District Secretary Arjun Bhatra, and Borigumma Block President Rabindra Mahapatra, among others.
The committee today received various written complaints from the public. One major allegation was that, for regularizing contractual teachers (Gana Shikshaks), large sums of money — amounting to lakhs of rupees — were collected through a specific data operator.
Instead of investigating the DEO’s corruption, the state government reportedly transferred him and remained silent. Several teacher leaders, educationists, and members of the Primary Teachers’ Association made these allegations.
The investigating team will compile the complaints and evidence collected during the hearing and submit them to both the state government and the Vigilance Department for action against the DEO. The anti-corruption organization has declared it will continue its efforts until an immediate investigation is carried out and action is taken against the corruption in the district’s education department.
Compared to other districts, Nabarangpur reportedly has the highest level of corruption. To address this, the organization has taken up Nabarangpur as a pilot project, according to a press release by Mr. Nanda, the state convener.
It was also announced that every month, such public hearings will be organized to raise public awareness about corruption in various departments and to encourage action against it.