DAVANGERE: Karnataka School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Friday said that the State Government will fill up 25,000 teacher posts this academic year and a special representation will be made to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to make necessary financial allocations to the department in the upcoming budget.
After inaugurating a government hi-tech school at Hucchangipura in Jagalur taluk of Davanagere district, which was funded by MLC and BJP leader N Ravikumar, Madhu said, “The previous government had approved the appointment of 13,000 teachers and we filled them.
With 25,000 teachers, vacancies in government schools will come down drastically. Special emphasis will be laid on educating students from Kalyana-Karnataka and we are planning to fill up 80% of vacancies in the region. Vacancies in grant-in-aid schools will also be filled.” He said 1.08 crore students are studying in various schools in the state, and government schools are facing problems pertaining to rooms and toilets, which are being constructed on priority.
He thanked the Azim Premji Foundation for funding eggs given to students in mid-day meals.
He said the new school at Hucchangipura, constructed on 2.20 acres, has a built-up area of 10,000 sqft on the ground floor and 8,000 sqft on the first floor, giving it a look of a “mini university”. The school has 16 classrooms, each with 600 square feet area, and a playground of 48,000 sqft, which is as per the Union Government’s guidelines.
The major portion of funds, to the tune of Rs 2.05 crore, was allocated by MLC N Ravikumar from his local area development fund. He was the alumnus of the school in the 1980s.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, allocated Rs 25 lakh from her local area development fund. Rajya Sabha members K Narayana and Veeranna Kadadi too allocated money. Ravikumar has also collected funds from his friends and CSR initiative of companies. The total cost of the construction of the school is Rs 3.10 crore.
Ravikumar told TNIE, “The construction of this hi-tech school is to provide quality education to students of my village and other surrounding villages.” SC/ST and OBCs, who form a major part of the population in these villages, are very poor. Many of them stop their education after SSLC or PUC. This school may motivate them to continue their education and land good jobs, he added.