Oppn parties slam Odisha govt for lack of teachers in schools

Accusing the BJD government in Odisha of neglecting school education, opposition parties in the Assembly today said education system in the state had collapsed due to lack of adequate number of teachers and proper infrastructure.
Participating in an adjournment notice in the House, opposition Congress and BJP members voiced concerns on the future of students saying their studies were severely hit in the absence of teachers in schools.
Hitting out at the BJD government for the "pathetic state of affairs" in schools in the state, Congress members Naba Kishore Das, Subala Sahu and Tara Prasad Bahinipati and BJP member Basant Panda claimed school education in the state had completely collapsed due to continuous neglect.

The opposition legislators said a large number of schools were manned by single teachers, while many schools lacked proper infrastructure and functioned from one room.
Ruling BJD members Pratap Jena, Prafulla Samal and Sanjeeb Sahu said the government had taken a number of steps for spread of education in the state. However, shortage of teachers needed to be tackled quickly, they felt.
Replying on the discussion, state School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra dismissed allegations that education was hampered due to shortage of teachers and said vacancies were being filled regularly as per requirement.

As per Right To Education law, as many as 2,24,330 teachers were needed in the state, while there were 1,89,569 teachers at present, he said, adding the process was under way for recruitment of 16,601 teachers.

Around 1.24 lakh teachers have been recruited during the past 14 years, the minister said.
Unhappy over the minister's reply, Congress members staged a walk-out from the House.