Karnataka govt’s move to merge 13K schools flayed

BENGALURU: The All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) has criticised the decision of the state government to merge 13,800 schools which have lesser than 25 students. AIDSO said that priority must be to improve the quality of education rather than closing the schools. Primary and Secondary Education Minister B C Nagesh’s had admitted that the enrolment in these schools, specially in rural areas, is low due to quality of education.

“The education minister has accepted that lack of facilities in government schools is the cause for low admission rate. Improving the facilities at the schools should have been the government’s priority. The current academic year has witnessed serious crisis where 10 lakh students dropped out of schools in the state,” said AIDSO state secretary Ajay Kamath in a statement. He alleged that the “anti-school” scheme is part of NEP implementation. The organisation has begun a nationwide signature campaign against its implementation, he added.