Raipur, Feb. 15:
In a bizarre order, a headmaster, who was the only regular tutor in a government primary school in Mahasamund district of Chhattisgarh, has been officially relieved from his routine teaching job for 66 days to enable him to offer his services at community kitchen service in Ayodhya Ram Temple on the recommendation of a local BJP MLA.
The order issued on January 20 by the Block Education Officer (BEO) KK Thakur of Pithora in Mahasamund district to deploy the services of the headmaster for a private organisation for 66 days on the directive of the Basna BJP legislator Sampat Agrawal has raised eyebrows. The headmaster Vishwamitra Behera of the Bijepur primary school was relieved to seek his services at ‘Bhandara’ (a mass feast usually held on auspicious occasions) as community kitchen work in Ayodhya from 23 January to 29 March this year.
The order sanctioning almost nine weeks of leave from the school came when the examinations were barely a couple of months away. According to local media reports in Mahasamund, the school in the region already facing shortage of teachers has one headmaster to teach students from Class 1 to 5. An assistant teacher has been posted here since July last year.
The headmaster has been asked to associate with a local private organisation ‘Neelanchal Sewa Samiti’ that is engaged in extending charitable service on preparing, serving food to devotees at Ayodhya Ram Temple Pran Pratishtha. BJP MLA, who was not available for comments, is said to be closely linked to Neelanchal Sewa Samiti.
“It has come to our knowledge. The notice will be issued to the BEO to seek clarification on what grounds he had placed order on the recommendation of the MLA,” said Assistant Director (School Education) Satish Nair.
There are 33 students enrolled in the primary school from Class 1 to 5. With the school headmaster away, there is only one female assistant teacher, Sushma Pradhan to teach.
“The headmaster is on a two-month leave to Ayodhya from January 23 following the order of the BEO,” she said.
“Devotion is appreciable but they are leaving the children at the mercy of whom when the exams are not far away,” some locals were heard discussing.