Hundreds of volunteers representing different organisations, on Thursday, launched an indefinite agitation outside the district administrative complex in Kalaburagi demanding proper teaching and non-teaching staff and adequate infrastructure for government schools in Kalyana Karnataka region.
The agitating activists said that the inadequate teaching and non-teaching staff has, along with the poor educational infrastructure, been adversely impacting around 12.5 lakh students every year.
“Scarcity of teaching staff is the biggest problem in the schools of Kalyana Karnataka region. As per information we have gathered, there is a shortfall of 14,301 teachers in lower primary schools and 3,495 in primary and high schools. It means government schools in the region need 17,796 teachers. If the government doesn’t fill those posts, the region will continue to remain educationally backward for another couple of decades,” said Vidya Patil, one of those leading the agitation, told The Hindu.
Another activist said that the Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board (KKRDB), which has been set up to implement the benefits of Special Status conferred on the region under Article 371(J) of the Constitution, should choose and develop 9,247 government schools as model schools at a cost of ₹130 crore a year.
“KKRDB receives a special grant of ₹5,000 crore a year. If it spends just ₹130 crore, it can choose and help develop 9,247 government schools in the region to compete with reputed private schools. It will help lakhs of students from poor and marginalised communities in the backward region to get quality education and compete with those studying in reputed private schools,” Abhay Kumar, who was among those leading the agitation, said.
Admitting that there is scarcity of teaching and non-teaching faculty in government schools across the Kalyana Karnataka region, Chief Minister’s political advisor and Aland MLA B.R. Patil said that he is extending his moral support to the agitation aimed at improving education in the backward region.
“I wholeheartedly support the agitation aimed at improving education in the backward Kalyana Karnataka. In the recently concluded winter session of the Legislature in Belagavi, I mentioned the plight of government schools in Kalyana Karnataka. I will discuss with the in-charge Ministers of all districts in Kalyana Karnataka and try to find a solution to the issue,” Mr. Patil said, during his brief visit to the agitation site.
Pointing to the poor maintenance of government schools, Mokshamma, a leader of the agitation, suggested that the 41 MLAs elected from the constituencies in the Kalyana Karnataka region should every year choose 10 government schools each and develop them in such a way that they become a model to other government schools in the region.
The agitating activists also expressed discontentment over the Union government’s decreasing budgetary allocations to the education sector with each passing year and said that this has increased the State Government’s responsibility to fill the gap.
District leaders, including Virupamma from Koppal, Sharanu Gouda from Kalaburagi, Akkamahadevi from Ballari, Sapna Deepa from Bidar, Mahalakshmi from Yadgir, M.B. Kotramma from Vijayanagar, Hafeez Ulha from Raichur, and others participated in the agitation.
