Bhawanipatna: As many as 129 students of Ratan Bhoi Panchayat Samiti High School in Karlamunda block of Kalahandi district are being taught by one permanent government teacher, a source said Monday.
According to the source, the school’s Mathematics teacher Purnachandra Rout remains the lone permanent teacher following the retirement of several teaching staff over the past few years.
Alongside Rout, five retired teachers were appointed till March 2024 as guest teachers in a stop-gap arrangement.
The source informed that Rout has remained the only permanent teacher in the school after the retirement of Nursingha Samanta in 2018, teacher Pabitra Mohan Pasha in 2020, Hindi teacher Basanta Patnaik, Sanskrit teacher Pradipta Sarangi, Physical Education teacher Benudhar Nag, assistant teacher Markanda Padhi in 2022 and assistant teacher Markanda Padhi and Headmaster Prasanna Kumar Pradhan in 2023.
Office clerk Ambilal Sahu will retire January 31 this year.
When contacted, teacher Purnachandra Rout said there is a shortage of teachers and classrooms. He informed that earlier, more than 250 students were enrolled in the school.
However, the number of students has declined due to a shortage of teachers, school managing committee chairman Nandi Kishore Bhoi said.
The residents of the area have demanded the district education department and the district collector to look into the matter.
PNN