The education department in Karnataka has issued a circular asking School Development Monitoring Committees (SDMCs) to collect monthly voluntary donations of Rs 100 per month from parents for government school development. Although the circular states parents must not be forced to pay the donation, they must be made to realise the schools’ requirements for the same. This decision has come under severe criticism from parents and opposition.
The education department said it plans to use the money for minor renovation of the schools and hiring guest teachers, and to tide over shortage in budgetary allocation from the government for these arrangements. The money received through the ‘Nanna Shaale, Nanna Koduge’ or ‘My School, My Contribution’ campaign will go towards minor repairs in the school, drinking water facilities, cleaning of toilets, among others, the Karnataka govt said.
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The Congress hit out at the government saying that the BJP government has started looting students and their parents although the government is supposed to ensure absolute free education in government schools. “BJP Karnataka govt has now targeted poor students of government schools. After looting 40 per cent commission from govt coffers, they now want to loot from the parents too,” tweeted Siddaramaiah, Leader of Opposition, Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Our government gave milk, cooked meals, uniform-shoes, vidyasiri & hostel facilities to the students.This @BJP4Karnataka govt took all these back one by one & now wants to take their money also.#SaveStudents
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 21, 2022
Slamming the govt, DK Shivakumar, President- Karnataka Congress said, “100 per month from the parents ₹ to cover the expenses of the government school children and give it to the school development-supervisory committees is the height of injustice issued by the state government. This decision confirmed that the state BJP is not fit to run government schools.”
“In the post-Covid days, thousands of government schools in the state are in poor condition and what is the justice of charging the school expenses to the parents when they are in financial distress? It is wrong to issue such unscientific decision in violation of Article 21A of the Constitution and right to education,” tweeted Shivakumar. (sic)
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