A visually-impaired teacher is now struggling hard to join a school in Kendrapada district. Headmistresses of two schools, to where he had been transferred, have already denied accepting him for his blindness, alleged the teacher.
Jagannath Pati of Balirajpur village under Kendrapada district’s Bagada gram panchayat, who has 100 per cent visual disability, had been posted as a Shiksha Sahayak at the Balipada Nodal Upper Primary School in Pattamundai on February 14, 2013.
In January this year, Pati applied to the district Collector-cum-Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Chairman seeking for a transfer to a school nearby his village, citing his difficulty in commuting to a distant place as the reason.
Considering his plea, the Collector on January 25 transferred him to the Sidhamarichani Bidyapitha UP School at Bagada under Kendrapada block. Elated Pati kept up attending the school for almost 18 days but the Headmistress did not make him formally join the school.
As a result, he knocked the doors of the BEO and SSA DPC seeking their support.
The SSA DPC then transferred him to the Khamarapada Primary School under the same block on March 3, 2016. Pati too went there but faced the same problem. “This time too I sought the DPC’s help, but in vein,” said a disgusted Pati.
On Thursday, Pati along with his mother came to the Collector’s office and urged the DM for justice.
When contacted, BEO Paramananda Sahu said the salary of the Khamarapada Primary School Headmastress was held up for not allowing Pati to join. Consequently, the Headmaster asked Pati to join the school but he did not respond. Even the department failed to communicate with him, Sahu said.
“Since last three months my son has been sitting idle. It has been difficult to collect bread and butter for the family,” said Sabitri Pati, mother of the visually-impaired teacher.
Collector Debaraj Senapati said he has already directed the BEO and the DEO to ensure that the teacher joins the Siddhamarichani Vidyapitha UP School to where he was transferred first at the earliest. Stern action would be taken if anybody puts him in further trouble, the Collector said.