The Panchayat College, a premier Government institution in the district, is in a moribund stage, thanks to shortage of teachers and other staff. More than 39 posts of teachers and 48 posts of non-teaching employees are lying vacant in the institution with about two departments going virtually without any teaching staff. While the total required strength of teachers in the college is 86, only 47 are working in the college.
While in plus III stream, 29 teachers are working against 60, 18 teachers are working against 26 in the plus II stream. The Government has failed to substitute staff members in case of transfer with the result that the number of vacant post is on the rise.
The principal post and one teacher post each in Hindi, Botany, logic, Political Science, Physics and Commerce departments are lying vacant in plus II stream. The Education department has been running without teachers since long. Similarly, in plus III stream, more than 31 posts are lying vacant. Odia department in plus III has one teacher against a sanctioned strength of five. Hindi department is going virtually without any teacher.
To add insult to injury, more than 48 posts of non teaching employees are lying vacant in the institution. Intellectual mass here has expressed deep concern over the negligence of the Government in filling up the vacant manpower in the college and is apprehensive that if no action is taken to fill the vacant posts, the college might be completely paralyzed.
Though the authority of the college has appraised about the precarious condition of the college to the Higher Education department, but no action has yet been taken.
On the other side, the student mass led by former student union president Naresh Padhan, Harihar Behera, Goutam Joshi, Aqkash Mohapatra, Ashis Meher and others have given a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Bargarh district Collector to take urgent step to provide manpower to the college. They have also threatened to hold strike if the demand is not fulfilled.