Bhubaneswar: The Department of School and Mass Education has locked 9 schools across 7 districts in Odisha due to the absence of teachers. Among them, 3 schools are from Keonjhar district alone. The students enrolled in these 9 primary schools have been instructed to be admitted to nearby schools. The Block Education Officers (BEOs) have been directed to ensure the proper enrollment of all affected students and to closely monitor the process. Furthermore, proposals will be sent by the District Education Officers to the Odisha School Education Programme Authority (OSEPA) to upgrade these schools.
Notably, the department has locked these 9 schools. Among them is Ma Hingula Upper Primary School in Korei block of Jajpur district. The school was shut after the teacher retired on May 31. Similarly, in Hatadihi block and Anandpur block of Keonjhar district, Shashire Primary School and Rogapur Upper Primary School have been closed due to the absence of teachers.
In Patna block of Keonjhar, Begunakhman Upper Primary School has been closed after its only teacher retired on April 30.
Other schools affected include:
Lokanath Jiu Upper Primary School, Jagatsinghpur
Netali Subash Chandra Bose Upper Primary School, Digapahandi block, Ganjam
Gokul Pradhan Upper Primary School, Lakhanpur, Jharsuguda
Beheramal Upper Primary School, Sambalpur
One school from Mayurbhanj district (name unspecified)
To ensure there is no disruption to students’ education, clear instructions have been given to transfer students to nearby schools. The BEOs will be responsible for tracking and confirming these enrollments. Proposals for upgrading these schools will also be submitted to OSEPA as per the department’s directives.