Experts oppose education reform panels headed by MLAs

They said the MLA-led committees could disrupt the work of School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs), which were set up to ensure schools function democratically, the forum said.
Experts oppose education reform panels headed by MLAs
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BENGALURU: The People’s Alliance for Fundamental Right to Education (PAFRE) has opposed the Karnataka government’s decision to form education reform committees led by MLAs. The association has called the move a violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act and has demanded that the government immediately withdraw it.

PAFRE said that mixing politics with school management will harm the education system and that past controversies, like the hijab issue, have already caused significant problems in schools.

The order, issued on January 13 and the follow-up memorandum on January 18, instructed officials to set up these committees at the taluk level. PAFRE stated that this decision goes against the RTE Act, which assigns key responsibilities — such as establishing schools, ensuring education for all children, and maintaining school facilities — to local bodies like gram, taluk and zilla panchayats.

“The government is taking away the powers of local authorities and giving them to MLAs. This is against the law and disrupts how schools are managed,” Prof Niranjanaradhya VP, development educationist and facilitator for PAFRE, said.

They said the MLA-led committees could disrupt the work of School Development and Monitoring Committees (SDMCs), which were set up to ensure schools function democratically, the forum said.

AIDSO condemns Hub & Spoke model

As part of the Education Reform Committee at taluk level, the government also revealed plans to implement the ‘Hub and Spoke’ model, which involves merging government schools with low attendance.

This has drawn sharp criticism from the All India Democratic Students’ Organisation (AIDSO). The AIDSO Karnataka State Committee claims that it is a step towards shutting down over 4,000 government schools.

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