Odisha: Show-cause notice slapped on headmaster over school students washing utensils

Bhubaneswar: The school and Mass Education (S&ME) department today slapped a show-cause notice on the headmaster of Durgadevi high school in Kanas block of Puri over alleged engagement of students in cleaning the utensils at night after a feast in the educational institution following science exhibition.

Director of Secondary Education department Sushant Kumar Dash sought a clarification in this regard from the headmaster identified as Bijay Kumar Jena. Appropriate action will be taken against the headmaster in case he fails to furnish a satisfactory reply in support of the act done by him.

Jena is required to submit his clarification within next two days, else will face administrative action.

Worth mentioning, a district-level science exhibition was organised on the premises of the school, for which a feast was also arranged. Several students of the school located in Dayavihar of Benagaon under Kanas block washed utensils after allegedly being asked to do so by a teacher on Tuesday night.

A video of the students washing utensils went viral on different social media platforms.

The invitees and participants left the science exhibition venue on Tuesday after the feast was over when a teacher allegedly took some students of Class IX and Class X to the riverbank of Daya near the school at around 11.00 pm and asked them to wash the soiled utensils used during cooking.

“The incident took place without my knowledge. Help of the students was sought by a teacher of the school, which was wrong,” the headmaster earlier said apologising over the matter.