BENGALURU: Sixty-two students from 25 districts in Karnataka left Vidhana Soudha disappointed, after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah failed to attend the Child Rights Parliament organised by the Karnataka Child Rights Observatory.
The chief minister later stated that the organisers had not informed him about the event.
During the session, students raised several concerns regarding education, health, and environmental issues. They pointed out the shortage of subject teachers, especially in math and science, in rural and border schools, which has led to academic setbacks and requested immediate appointments to fill these gaps.
One of the students urged the government to restart the Kishori Yojana, which had previously provided nutrition to malnourished teenage girls, as they noted its positive impact in preventing anemia and improving health.
Poorvika from Hassan district expressed concerns about climate change, pointing out its adverse effects on education and daily life. She also requested the government to prioritise environmental protection and take further steps to encourage renewable energy projects like solar and wind power to mitigate the impact of extreme weather events.
Most of the girls recommended the distribution of environmentally-friendly reusable cloth sanitary pads in schools as an alternative to plastic-based ones.
Instead of CM Siddaramaiah, Ritesh Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary of the School Education and Literacy Department, attended the session. While Singh listened and gave suggestions, the children were disappointed by the CM’s absence, saying their questions would have been different if he had been there.