In the wake of dwindling student strength in government schools and their subsequent closure, a seven-member committee headed by the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) has recommended to the government to issue an order making it mandatory for people’s representatives and government employees to admit their children to State-run or aided schools.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on Monday, released a report with 21 recommendations on ‘strengthening of government schools’ prepared by KDA chairman S.G. Siddaramaiah.
The Chief Minister said many leaders, legislators and ministers, who speak volumes about promotion of quality of education in government schools, send their children to private schools. Many poor people come to him seeking recommendation for admission of their wards to reputed private schools, he said. To counter admission rush in private pre-nursery schools, the panel also recommended opening of LKG and UKC classes in government primary and higher primary schools. To ensure cent percent attendance of teachers in schools and improve the quality of teaching, the report recommended freeing teachers from all kinds of non-teaching work such as census and electoral work.
With a large number of vacancies in government schools, the KDA chairman said teachers should be recruited for all subjects to encourage high pass percentage in schools. As part of the ICT programme, the panel said e-libraries and e-book facilities must be provided in government schools so that students would be equipped with e-skills on a par with students in private schools.
The Chief Minister instructed Primary and Secondary Education Minister Tanveer Sait to look into KDA’s recommendations and bring it before the Cabinet.
Though the committee was set up last year, it took over a year to come up with recommendations. The Chief Minister said: “You (KDA) have submitted the report in the last year of the government. This is election year, but we will look into it.”