HUBBALLI: Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti has strongly opposed deploying teachers to conduct the upcoming caste census in the state. He has suggested to the State Government to use 10% of the staff from all departments to avoid disturbing the functioning of the Education Department.
In a strongly worded letter to the State Government, Horatti expressed deep anguish over the declining quality of school education, blaming systemic flaws and the overburdening of teachers with non-academic duties as the key reasons. He opposed the government’s move to deploy school teachers, especially those from primary and high schools, for the upcoming caste census, warning that such practices will harm students’ academic foundation.
Referring to a study conducted in Yadgir district under the Education Department’s foundational literacy and numeracy initiative, Horatti said it was shocking to discover that many SSLC students still lacked basic skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. He stressed that the failure to build foundational literacy in primary school is a serious indictment of the current system and demanded accountability.
“When SSLC students do not know Kannada or English alphabet and cannot even perform basic addition or subtraction, we must ask, who is responsible?” Horatti said, adding that teachers are unable to focus on teaching due to being repeatedly pulled into non-teaching roles such as surveys, census work, and election duties. “Teachers are made to handle caste surveys, flood assessments, child enumeration, polling officer duties and more. With all this, when can they actually teach?” he asked.
Calling it a violation of the spirit of Article 21 A of the Constitution, which guarantees free and compulsory education to all children aged 6 to 14, Horatti urged the government to relieve teachers of non-academic duties immediately.