Scribes raise issues of Quality of Education in Rayagada

Rayagada, Dec 10: “Constitutional bindings like Right to Education(RTE) Act only can not bring visible changes in the present scenario of education in the country. It needs to be supplemented with an attitudinal change in the mindset of the pupils, parents, implementing executives, people’s representatives and the public as a whole.

There needs to be systemic change with a conducive environment for joyful learning”, said Sri Premananda Rout, District Education Officer and Chief Speaker during a workshop jointly organized by Muniguda Press Union and Odisha Union of Working Journalists(OUWJ), Rayagada district chapter.

Inaugurating the workshop, Sri Laxmikanta Behera, Additional District Magistrate, Rayagada described about the achievements of Odisha Govt in the context of education. He reminisced his childhood days when many like him could not enjoy the school infrastructure like pucca school buildings, residential facilities, science equipments, exposure of the students and teachers, etc. He had no transport then to reach his school situated in a thatched house with less number of rooms and it took him hours to reach the school; but the situation has changed now.

There are scores of primary, upper primary and high schools and even colleges at the reach of the students who are provide with uniforms, cycles, ample teaching-learning materials, laptops, science laboratories at high school level, exhibitions and cultural extravaganzas, etc. After all , it depends upon the students and teachers how best they use all these facilities creatively and make the joyful learning possible.

Sri Badal kumar Tah, State Vice-President of OUWJ and President, Ziilla Sambadika Sangha, Rayagada introducing today’s theme of discussion shared some of his experiences on present status of pre-primary and primary education in Rayagada district which is dominated by tribals. When the Govt is boasting of Swachhata Abhiyan, the inmates of most of the residential schools attend the call of nature outside near the stream.

During a recent cultural jamboree in Ekalbya Model Residential School, around 1000 boy students were compelled to ease out at roadside near a tribal village called Barijhola and made the surroundings stinky and filthy. The organizers of the event could have conceptualized establishing low cost trench latrines for the purpose. There are high schools bordering AP state like Gothalapadara and Jagannathpur which have day scholars around forty each with least infrastructure like Headmaster’s room, teachers’ common room, functional toilets, spce for science laboratories, etc violating several constitutional rights including RTE Act. There are multilingual schools in the absence of competent teachers and necessary equipments.

Sri Maheswar Brahmachari, Secretary of Rayagada Press Union, who moderated the whole event, emphasized on quality pre-primary education for tribal children who are most disadvantaged. As per the world’s most renowned psychologists, eighty percent of the brain of a human being develops during one’s early childhood, ie, before six years of age. But our pre-primary education centres which are Anganwadi Centres   virtually do not give priority at all to the education component. In these centres, Mother Tongue based Multi Lingual Early Childhood Education is the need of the hour. The process of joyful  learning must begin at this stage.

Journalist namely Gouranga Mohapatra, Sri Rao, meritorious students, best ASHA, best Anganwadi Worker, Best Sikhya Sahayak of the block, ADM, DEO were felicitated for their contribution to the development of the district. The workshop was presided by Sri Jogeswar Das, District President-OUWJ and with him the dais was shared by other coveted Guests of Honour named Sri Tapan Kumar Satpathy, Tehsildar, Rayagada, Sri Ananta Charan Mallick, Sub-divisional Police Officer, Sri Manoranjan Dalai, District Treasurer,OUWJ. Sri  Umakanta Nemalpuri of Muniguda Press Union gave vote of thanks. This sort of initiative taken up by the scribes will go a long way, said the gentries of Muniguda.