DH Impact: Lokayukta act on report on govt schools

The Lokayukta has taken up a suo motu complaint on the DH report of August 26, 2018 on “Pathetic state of government schools”. Lokayukta Justice P Vishwanath Shetty has directed officials to submit an action-taken report within eight weeks.

DH had published the report on August 26 detailing how one teacher is managing several classes in government schools and how crumbling infrastructure has resulted in a decline in the enrolment.

“A perusal of the news item shows that there is one teacher, who teaches students of Classes 1 to 4 and the said teacher is also required to cooperate with the cook as well as keep a watch on the children while drawing water from a bore. The image of a dilapidated building, which is a government higher primary school in Kadabur village of Chittapur taluk, Kalaburagi district is also shown in the said article. The failure to get the condition of the Government schools repaired and failure to provide adequate teaching and non-teaching staff to such schools with proper amenities and exposing the students to threat of being harmed, in my considered view, amounts to maladministration within the meaning of Section 2 (10) of the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, which calls for investigation,’’ Justice Shetty stated in the order.

The Lokayukta stated that the educational institutions should be in a position to attract students to government schools. “I am sure, the higher authorities in the department will view the matter very seriously and take action against the concerned who are indifferent and negligent in the discharge of their duties in providing quality education to the children and also for not taking effective and timely steps to keep the condition of the building suitable to be used as a teaching institution,’’ the Lokayukta said.

Justice Shetty has also highlighted the right to education, which is guaranteed to all the children up to the age of 14 years under article 21 A of the Constitution. By enacting the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, the Parliament has not only provided right to free and compulsory education for a child from the age of 6 to 14 years, but has also prescribed duties of appropriate government, local authority and parents,’’ the Lokayukta has stated. “For the effective implementation of the said statute, National Advisory Council and State Advisory Council have been constituted under Chapter 6 of the said Act. It is needless to mention that the enactment of the said statute was a result of the observations made by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in many of its judgments,’’ he said.

The Lokayukta has ordered issuance of notice to Principal Secretary of Primary and Secondary Education Department, Director, Department of Public Instructions and Deputy Commissioners of Chikkaballapur and Kalaburagi.