BENGALURU: The children of released bonded labourers will be eligible for entry into schools run by the Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KREIS). Social Welfare Department Principal Secretary Manivannan P said the minister concerned has given directives to admit the children of bonded labourers to KREIS schools. This comes after the principal secretary had posted a tweet showcasing one of 833 KREIS-run schools in the state, stating ‘making leaders from underprivileged communities’.
While the tweet gained recognition for the well-maintained state of the KREIS schools, with many lauding the department for its efforts in improving the schools, some also highlighted that teachers still needed to be recruited and a switch must be made from the schools residing in rented buildings. However, one request made by a netizen asking that the children of released bonded labourers be considered for admission was met with immediate action.
“While KREIS doesn’t run schools from Classes 1 to 5, there are social welfare and tribal welfare department-run schools from these classes. The minister has also given directives to strengthen them. He has directed us to give the highest priority to quality education, so we are working in that direction,” he said. Currently, KREIS runs 833 schools in the state, including Morarji Desai schools, Kittur Rani Chennamma schools, Dr B R Ambedkar schools, Atal Bihari Vajpayee schools and Indira Gandhi schools. The schools are run exclusively to cater to the education of students coming from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes.