By starting pre-primary classes in government primary schools, the possibility of closure of schools can be avoided, Basavaraj Gurikara, president of the Karnataka State Primary School Teachers’ Association, said here on Saturday.
The association has urged the government to start lower kindergarten (LKG) and upper kindergarten (UKG) classes in all government schools from 2015-16 and for a year, the existing teachers would take the responsibility of handling extra classes.
Speaking to presspersons, Mr. Gurikara said that understanding the difficulties in providing teachers immediately for pre-primary classes, the existing teachers would handle extra classes for a year. “We have informed this to the government. Let them decide on this issue and recruit qualified teachers by next year,” he said.
The Department of Public Instruction had proposed to close down 500 schools in the next academic year.
The government should look for ways to continue the schools, instead of closing any, he said. The association would also demand uniform education to end disparity in syllabi. “Parents prefer private schools because of syllabi and basic infrastructure. Although government schools have good teachers, we have not been able to attract students because of poor infrastructure,” he said.
Initially, teachers working in primary schools will handle LKG, UKG classes for one year’
Government urged to initiate steps to retain public schools, instead of trying to close them
