After frequent reports of alleged sexual assault on children and death of three schoolchildren in Tumakuru district allegedly because of food poisoning, the State government has decided to monitor and regulate functioning of private CBSE and ICSE schools to ensure student safety and security.
The State Cabinet on Friday decided to amend the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, in accordance with the Children’s Safety Policy, 2016, to enable the State to take appropriate action for the safety and security of students in CBSE and ICSE schools.
Sources in the State Secretariat told The Hindu that the decision to the amend the Act was taken following death of three children allegedly owing to food poisoning in a private school hostel in Tumakuru district.
The proposed amendment will ensure safety of all students. The amendment will also give powers to the State government to regulate admission fees and service conditions of teachers in private schools. For instance, the Tumakuru district school has no permission to run a hostel where the three students died, sources said.
Currently, the State government has no powers to monitor the functioning of these institutions as they come under the Central boards concerned.
A new Bill, the Karnataka Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017, will be introduced in the legislature session next week to establish government control over CBSE and ICSE schools, sources said.
It was also decided to amend the Karnataka State Civil Services (Regulation of Transfer of Teachers) Act, 2007, to fix maximum teacher transfers at 15% of the total number teachers and posting of teacher couple at one place.
The State Cabinet has decided to to take back 4 acres of land allotted to S. Sundaresh, by the Jagadish Shettar government, at Srigandadakaval in Bengaluru as a gesture of appreciation for a freedom fighter’s family. The decision had raised a storm as the Opposition parties had alleged a scam behind it. It has been decided to serve a show-cause notice on Mr. Sundaresh for withdrawing the land as a subsequent investigation termed the allotment as “fraudulent and the family was not eligible for the benefit”, sources said.
