Khandapara: Students of 13 educational institutions in this block were barred from appearing in the ‘Medhabruti Scholarship Examinations’ as the schools did not have the No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued by the State Government. The examinations were conducted on August 17 and 18.
It is imperative for all private educational institutions in Odisha to have NOC from the government to function. The Odisha government has recently released the names of private schools functioning without NOC and this has created a furor. No one knows about the future of students studying in these schools and whether they will be able to appear in the Odisha board exams and other tests. It appears that these institutions are more concerned about earning money rather than guaranteeing the future of the kids.
According to the block education officer (BEO) Chandan Rath, there are 19 private and residential schools operating in Khandapara, Khalisahi, Kantilo, Dholomara, Mardarajpur, Kiajhar, and Jagannathprasad panchayats. Among them, only Samanta Chandra Sekhar Educational Institute, Om Sai International School, Saraswati Sishu Vidyamandir in Khandapara and Kantilo and three private schools at Dholmara and Jagannathprasad panchayats have the necessary NOC.
The remaining 13 do not have the requisite clearance and yet are functioning and at the same time charging exorbitant fees. Parents and other locals in the area informed that these schools have allegedly bribed officials of the education department to continue their clandestine operations.
Parents of students studying in these schools have demanded strict action against the schools functioning without NOC. They have written to the district administration, BEO and Collector to ensure that the future of the students is not compromised.
When contacted, BEO Chandan Rath said that he will talk to his senior officers of the education department.
It should be mentioned here that a minimum of two acres of land is required to set up an educational institution with proper infrastructure. However, many schools and colleges in the district have come up on land areas which are less than two acres. Hence they do not have proper infrastructure which is causing immense problems to the students. A number of people have demanded that the State Government should also look into this issue.
PNN