Not only disappointing, the budget is misleading too

The proposal to handover schools to MLAs is disastrous and is an attempt to find an individual solution to a systemic problem.
Not only disappointing, the budget is misleading too

The state budget 2020-21 for school education is not only disappointing but also misleading. Instead of addressing issues in a holistic manner to build and restructure a strong public education system based on the scientific report submitted by the Kannada Development Authority (KDA), the state has adopted a myopic approach, creating a big mess in the overall system.  

Inadequate allocation shows that the state government is abdicating its responsibility to build a strong public education system based on the recommendations of the committee to strengthen government schools and also implementation of RTE Act 2009 to provide equitable quality education to all children.
The budget has again failed to provide the long-pending demand of a minimum of 20 percent of its total allocation to school education. Rs 29,768 crore apportioned is grossly inadequate, which is a negligible increase of Rs 1,617 crore as compared to last year’s (28,151).

The budget has completely shifted focus from the burning issue of elementary education like out-of-school children (around 70,000 as per education department recent census), 30,000 vacancies of teachers’ positions, closure /merger of government schools, inadequate infrastructure, lack of subject-wise teachers, dilapidated classrooms and lack of qualified and competent teachers to teach English. With such a meagre budget, the government will not be able to even fulfil provisions of the RTE Act, let alone provide good equitable education.

The commitment to universalise secondary education (SDG Goal 4) by 2030 will also remain a distant dream.The proposal to handover schools to MLAs is disastrous and is an attempt to find an individual solution to a systemic problem. When there is a scientific, research-based report by the KDA, what is the need for an individual recommendation? This will only lead to political interference in the education matters.

Niranjanaradhya V P,development educationist

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