The inordinate delay in issuance of caste certificates to Scheduled Caste (SC) children living in the Garisurnpur area in Nuagaon under Balianta block and Sarkantara village under Bhubaneswar tehsil is likely to prevent them from pursuing higher education.
According to National Confederation of Dalit Organisations (NACDOR) State unit president Ashok Mallick, though nearly 600 children from these two areas have applied for caste certificates since last three months at the Balianta and Bhubaneswar tehsils, nothing tangible has happened as yet.
“Admission to the various higher education courses has already started. If the SC students cannot produce their caste certificates, they will be deprived of higher studies. Caste certificate becomes necessary when pupils from the SC community want to appear at public examinations and as well as to pursue higher secondary studies in any other school and colleges,” said Mallick.
Mallick regretted that several pleas made to the authorities concerned to issue caste certificates in the recent past have not yielded any positive results.
“When I approached Khordha Collector Shalini Pandit urging her to ensure early issuance of caste certificates to the SC children, she asked me to wait till the completion of the elections. Though a month has elapsed since the completion of the polls, nothing tangible has happened as yet,” said Mallick.