Karnataka’s Pre-University Certificate-2 (PUC) results—the equivalent of 12th standard boards—have revealed stark disparities in access to quality education offered to students on the threshold of their adult lives. While Udupi and Dakshina Kannada districts topped in pass shares with 93.90 percent and 93.57 percent, respectively, districts in the underdeveloped Kalyana Karnataka (erstwhile Hyderabad-Karnataka) region suffered badly, with Raichur recording 58.75 percent, Kalaburagi 55.70 percent, and Yadgir at the bottom of the table with 48.45 percent.
The poor showing in this region is directly linked to its poor infrastructure and lack of adequate educational facilities, casting a telling blow on performance. Deputy directors of education in Yadgir, Kalaburagi and Raichur have attributed the poor showing to more than half the teaching posts in the region lying vacant, while guest lecturers, appointed after a delay of four months, were taking just 12 classes per week against 20 by the regular ones; some were working in more than two colleges at a time.
Of the 23 PU colleges in Yadgir, only two have permanent principals; the rest are managed by those in ad hoc roles. There is also a severe shortage of teachers for English, physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology. Compounding the situation, a shortage of Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation buses makes it difficult for students in rural areas to be regular in attending classes; no such problem is faced in the better-performing regions of the state.
There was a drop of 7.70 percentage points in the overall PUC-2 pass percentage in the state to 73.45 percent. Minister for Primary Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa attributed this to stricter monitoring and real-time surveillance using web streaming, which led to a more transparent and realistic evaluation of student performance. But that does not absolve the state government of its apathy towards the glaring regional imbalance in infrastructure and ease of access to education.
Urgent correctional measures need to be taken to make good educational infrastructure equally available across the state. The Karnataka government needs to wake up to the fact that they are dealing with a large cohort of youngsters at a crucial juncture in life when big dreams loom large. And that education and health are the two crucial limbs used in marching towards such dreams.