Students promoted sans examination

BALASORE: Here, students are promoted sans examinations. As many as 10 students of Rambhamani nodal school in Oupada block of Balasore district have been getting promotions to next class for the last four years without attending classes regularly or even visiting the school at least once  a year. This apart, the school has on its rolls 32 fake students.Though surprising, this came to the fore during an inquiry by the Block Resource Centre Coordinator (BRCC) Indramani Rout recently. According to the probe reports, the school authorities have added 10 fake names in Class-IV, one in Class-VII, 11 each in Class-III and Class-II to allegedly swindle money sanctioned for mid-day meals and school uniforms.  Rout said the students who have been promoted without attending classes are the family members of the school authorities. “The school authorities also have embezzled the scholarship money meant for the SC/ST students of Class-VI and Class-VII. Besides, the materials and food grains for the mid-day meals also have been misappropriated,” the probe report mentioned.Local villagers alleged that many a time they had protested against the illegal activities. The District Inspector of Schools, however, ordered probe after they locked the school gate demanding action against the erring headmaster and teachers.Meanwhile, Rout has submitted the report to Nilagiri DI of Schools Surendranath Sankhua. While headmaster Manoranjan Dalapatiray could not be contacted, the DI admitted to have received a report of irregularities.