Government Kannada Schools in the border areas adjoining the border Belagavi district face a piquant situation of being on the verge of extinction. The state legislature proceedings are held a handful of times in the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha every year in Belagavi. But, that is no respite for the predicament the state government-run schools are facing.
An onslaught of English Medium Schools: Apart from the lacunae that continue to exist among the public Kannada schools, the onslaught of English medium schools mushrooming across the state in the nook and corner has dealt a fatal blow. There may not be state-run KSRTC buses to many villages for communication but, there is no dearth of English medium school buses to pick up and drop the children to the nearby big village, town or city!
Rs 37, 960 Crores set for Education: In the last budget before the state went to the Assembly polls the previous chief minister Basavaraj Bommai presented the 2023-24 budget. An allocation of Rs 37,960 crores was made for education. It was higher than the preceding year's total of Rs 31, 980 crores.
Rs 153 Crores for the upkeep: In the revised budget presented by the new Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for the year 2023-24, Rs 153 Crores has been allocated to improve school infrastructure and maintenance. The annual funds for this purpose have also been increased to Rs 45,000. The purpose of making these funds available was to ensure that the schools are well-maintained and provide a conducive learning environment for students.
Rs 650 Crores for construction of Classrooms: The state budget has also made a provision of Rs 650 Crores for the construction of school and college classrooms and Rs 200 Crores for the construction of toilet complexes. All these figures may make you wonder whether all state government schools are on par with the private/corporate ones in the state. Please do not come to such a conclusion as the situation on the ground is quite paradoxical to what is being attempted to be portrayed in the budget pages.
Need for an investigation: According to the state government sources, hundreds of crores are being spent in the name of improvement of school infrastructure, maintenance, and construction of school and college classrooms. However, the ground reality speaks in the opposite direction, far away from what is being tried to be portrayed officially. Perhaps this paradoxical situation by itself is a curious subject for study, investigation and analysis by the social science institutes and media outlets.
A systematic strategy to close Kannada Schools: For record sake, the state government exhibits a mind-boggling expenditure of hundreds of crores. But the pathetic condition of any number of government Kannada schools reveals an opposite picture. Much more than that, there has been a systematic strategy to close the state-run Kannada schools over some time.
No High School despite repeated pleas: Kukdolli is a village nearby to Belagavi. The residents have been pleading repeatedly for decades to set up Kannada High School in vain. Forget responding to the repeated demand, the villagers are aghast with the state government as there has been no effort worthwhile mentioning to prevent closure of the existing schools. Maruti Sarawari, a social activist laments-"As there is no high school in Kukdolli, every day hundreds of children are compelled to go far-off places for higher education. There is an urgent need to set up a high school in the village to avoid this problem. But, all our repeated pleas in this regard have made no sense so far".
Assurance of aid to no avail: Anil Potdar, a Kannada protagonist of Umadi village of Jath Taluk in Sangli district and a passionate activist for the cause of Kannadigas settled in the border regions of Maharashtra is candid enough to admit the situation the way it stands-"We keep hearing that Kannada Development Authority and Karnataka Border Areas Development Authority are primarily meant for the overall welfare and development of the Kannadigas living in the border areas. But for felicitating the first three rank holders of Kannada medium in SSLC examinations every year nothing more is visible on the ground".
Border Kannadigas remembered only in November: Toeing almost the same line of thinking, Kune Balaraj, President of Kannada Teachers Association Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, sarcastically remarks-"Our brethren in the mainland remember us only during November every year. For us in the neighbouring border areas, Kannada is a question of our livelihood. More than 20,000 students are learning in Kannada medium government schools in Andhra Pradesh. Unfortunately, they are assured of nothing and forget any career or future. With such a grave situation, how can you ever think that border Kannadigas and Kannada have hope in the days to come?"
Asking for reservations and not money or freebies: Rajendra Gurubasappa Biradar, President of Jath Taluk Shikshakara Balaga is fed up with following up with the officials, people's representatives, ministers and chief ministers on the woes of border Kannadigas for decades. He feels very sorry to admit-"Nothing moves but for repeated assurances from all those who matter. We have been desperately trying to push for reservations to border area students in higher education and government jobs. Unfortunately, there are no takers neither for our grievances nor our genuine demands".
-Manohar Yadavatti
Sir bahala Chennagide
ReplyDelete👌🖐
ReplyDeleteಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ಬರಹ ಸರ್. ಗಡಿ ಅಂಚಿನ ಕನ್ನಡ ಶಾಲೆಗಳ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಯಿಂದ ಗಡಿ ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗೂ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಸಿಗಬಹುದು
ReplyDelete