3 education dept employees suspended

Three School and Mass Education department employees including a headmistress of a government-run primary school were suspended on charge of diverting rice meant for mid-day meal to the open market in Odisha's Jajpur district.
District Education Officer (DEO) Kapilendra Mishra said today the three were placed under suspension on the basis of the inquiry report by Block Education Officer (BEO), Dharmasala.
The suspended employees are - Block Resource Cluster Coordinator (BRCC) Akshya Kumar Biswal and Cluster Resource Centre Coordinator (CRCC) Subodha Kumar Patra, both of Dharmasala block and headmistress of Radhakrushna nodal upper primary school at Achutpur, Suresini Acharya, he said.

Misappropriation of rice came to fore when villagers of Achutpur informed to the higher authorities regarding mid day meal rice meant for such sale last week.
"On being informed by the villagers, I rushed to Radhakrushna nodal upper primary school at Achutpur and found over 25 quintals of rice meant for mid-day meal for students were kept in two rooms of the school. While 18 quintals of rice were kept in a room, another 7 quintals were hoarded in another room," said Prafulla Chandra Behera, BEO of Dharmasala.
After verification of stock, it was detected that over 18 quintals of excess mid-day meal rice was stocked in the school. On inquiry, it is found that mid-day meal was not being served to the children for couple of weeks, he said.

BEO seized the excess rice with the help of the villagers in presence of all school staff.

"Headmistress of the school failed to produce registers and documents regarding the excess 18 quintals of rice," said the DEO adding both BRCC and CRCC also failed to give satisfactory answer over the stock excess rice.
The school authorities were trying to misappropriate the mid-day meal rice, he said.
BEO submitted his inquiry report to the Jajpur DEO following which the three employees were placed under suspension yesterday.