Balasore, June 3: The 158-year-old Balasore Zilla School here is facing problems of encroachment by private bodies.
The parent-teacher association (PTA) and the school management and development committee (SMDC) have appealed to the district administration to bail the school out of this difficulty.
“We have found the school area under private encroachment. Since land protection of this institution is our prime concern, we have drawn attention of the school and mass education department and now, petitioned before the district collector,” said Manoj Nayak, a committee member.
Established in 1853, on 12 acres of government land, this heritage school has produced hundreds of distinguished personalities, including freedom fighters, poets and academicians. Initially the school had started functioning on the site where now the Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College stands. “The Balasore Zilla School bears an unique image of education for our district. We have sought demarcation of the school area by the administration,” said association president Ranjan Baug. The school has swapped its playground with that of the district athletic association’s. However, due to the lack of proper fencing, it has become goons’ den.
Moreover, the association and the committee have also alleged that apart from the land encroachment trouble, the school bears the brunt of government apathy. This prestigious government institution, with over 1,200 students, does not have a regular headmaster while the posts of three teaching staff are lying vacant.
“Among several other bottlenecks, we neither have adequate furniture nor hostel facilities for the students,” headmaster Arat Mantry said.
Earlier, several parents had expressed concerns over these issues. “The school has been churning out at least one student in the top-10 merit list of matriculation examinations. There is no regular headmaster. The walls have not been painted for the past 16 years and the broken furniture has not been replaced either,” said alumni association member Santanu Das. Circle inspector (CI) of education Markat Kesari Ray, however, said he had little role in posting a headmaster. “There is a dearth of qualified persons to be appointed as headmaster. Moreover, the posting is done at a higher-level,” he said.
Reacting to the complaints, district collector Akhil Bihari Ota said: “I have received the complaint regarding private encroachments from the committee and the association four days ago. I have asked the revenue officials to look into the matter. I would try to resolve the other issues by apprising the concerned authorities.”