TNI Bureau: In order to fill up the vacant posts of teachers at government schools particularly primary and upper primary levels, Odisha government has decided to appoint about 32,000 eligible Shiksha Sahayaks by the end of December 2012. The appointment and selection process will be done on merit basis.
State School and Mass Education Secretary Usha Padhee said that 17,000 new Shiksha Sahayaks (SS) will be engaged in the Government schools by end of October this year. The process of recruiting another 15,000 teachers will be completed by December end.
It should be recalled that during the process of certificate verification for these SS posts, an unfortunate incident took place in Kandhamal district. On last October 9, some people led by Kui Samaj Samanoya Samiti convener Lamodar Kanhar allegedly assaulted some candidates, who came from outside Kandhamal for attending an interview for the post of SS, during their certificate verification process. The district administration had arrested Kanhar in this connection and he was later released on bail.
The School and Mass Education Minister Rabi Narayan Nanda had ordered a probe into the incident by the Kandhamal District Collector immediately after the incident.
The School and Mass Education Secretary also informed that an inquiry report from the Kandhamal District Collector had already been received by her Department and necessary action would be taken after examination of the report in this context. She said that certificates of all the candidates who applied for the post of SS in Kandhamal district would be verified and the eligible ones would be selected in a transparent manner for engagement on merit.