An incident has come to the fore in Jajpur district in which the authorities of a school have been accused of forcibly engaging students in cleaning work before the visit of Shool and Mass Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra and Barachana MlA Amar Prasad Satapathy to the school on Tuesday.

The authorities of the Janakalyan High School at Chandikhola engaged as many as 120 students on cleaning school premises and the nearby road while some persons managed to take pictures of the students while doing cleaning work. 

When contacted, school Headmaster Sanatan Das said, “Some students voluntarily put sand on the road in front of the school to make the road clean for the visit of the Minister.”

However, DEO Krushna Chandra Nayak said, “It is illegal on the part of the school authorities to engage students for cleaning works. We have already started investigation. After getting the report, we will take action against the persons who engaged students in the work.”

Meanwhile, the BJP demanded that Minister Patra and MlA Satpathy tender apology as the students were engaged ahead of their visit.

“While it is restricted not to engage students in any physical work and make them stand on queues to welcome Ministers, the school authorities engaged students to clean a muddy road ahead of the Minister’s visit for which the Governmet is responsible. Hence the Minister and the MlA should tender an apology,” demanded party spokesperson Sajjan Sharma at a Press meet here.

Party’s State vice-president Sameer Mohanty was present.