Dharwad: Teachers in
government primary and secondary schools who are irregular to work will have to be wary henceforth. The state education department has introduced
Centralised Biometric System (CBS) and installed instruments in all schools across the state to monitor the movement of teachers and non-teaching employees. Top officials, while sitting in Bengaluru, can access these biometric instruments and check the attendance of any employee in any government school in
Karnataka.
Shalini Rajnish, principal secretary (primary and secondary education), told reporters here on Sunday that the move to introduce CBS was following complaints from parents and the members of School Development Monitoring Committee (SDMC) that some teachers, after signing the muster roll, keep away from schools during class hours. There were also complaints that local officers of the education department had failed to initiate action against errant teachers. National Informatic Centre (NIC) has already developed a software, and CBS will be implemented in all government schools within next 45 days.
On complaints that private schools were charging exorbitant fees, the government’s regulatory directive notwithstanding, Shalini said that the government has fixed fees to be charged by private schools, and has prepared a checklist having 21 components on rules and facilities to be provided to children and teachers. “Schools which are functioning without following these norms will face stern action,” she said, adding DERAs (District Education Regulatory Authority), led by the respective DCs, have been directed to act against the complaint filed by parents regarding exorbitant fees and donation menace. It has come to the notice of the government that some officers of education department at the local level have either ignored the complaints against erring private schools or have connived with them. Action will be taken against lax officials too, the bureaucrat said.
Shalini noted that more people are seeking admission in private schools under RTE, and this has affected the strength in government schools. “The government is paying for these students and to overcome the problem, there is a need to improve the quality of teaching and infrastructure facilities in government schools. The issue will be discussed in detail during a meeting with chief minister H D Kumarswamy on Monday,” she added.
As many as 4,000 anganwadi centres, which are functioning in rented and own buildings, will be shifted to nearest government schools so that students complete primary, secondary and PU education under one roof.
With the support of National Institute of Open Schooling, vocational training is being imparted for students studying Class 7 and above. Here, skill development programmes will be held for students who are not keen to take up studies, she added.
Special coaching classes for SSLC students are being conducted through tele-education, wherein subject experts would be holding class for one hour in Doodarshan on English, maths and science, said Shalini.
Education department additional commissioner Siddalingayya Hiremath and DDPI N H Nagur and others were present.
‘No streamlining of PU dept working’
Shalini said there is need to streamline the working of PU education department. Replying to a question on complaints about the department taking “sudden decisions” on cutting down the summer vacation, changing textbooks, recruitment of teachers in private aided colleges, at short notice, Shalini said that she will look into these aspects and sort them out.
