RTE: Passing the buck, assurances continue

[email protected] (Abrar Ahmed Khan)
March 19, 2012

In May 2011, Vishweshwara Hegde Kageri , State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, had assured that the Right To Education (RTE) Act will be implemented “in a month's time”. Even after almost a year since he gave that assurance, when Mr. Kageri is asked about the delay in implementation of the Act, the response is similar – 'Very soon'.

kageri

Speaking to Coastaldigest.com at the side lines of a function in Bhatkal on Sunday, Mr. Kageri said “My Ministry has done its job and we have forwarded the Act to the cabinet. It is now with them and they may pass it any time. We know that it is something that has to be implemented and the Centre has already given orders. It is with the state cabinet and very soon, it will be implemented”, Mr. Kageri reassured.

When asked if the Act would see implementation well before schools begin across the state, Mr. Kageri responded in the affirmative.

The snail paced action being taken by the state government to implement the Act has been a cause of concern. “Admissions in schools will begin in a few days and the evil of collecting capitation fees and donations are likely to continue if the Act is not implemented now. The Act has some strict laws in connection with collection of donations. Without it, the schools will behave as though there is no one to question them”, says Renny D'Souza, Director, VALORADE (Value Oriented Educational Project), and an education activist.

The Minister however informed that the state government has looked into the aspect of prescribing fee structures for not just government schools but private aided and unaided schools as well.

However, it is not just the donation menace but many other aspects of schooling that educational activists are looking for in the implementation of RTE. Apt changes have to be made in the Act as per the state's requirements, which the Minister says, has been done. “Although no major changes have been made in the Act passed by the centre, we have looked into certain aspects and made changes as per the requirements of our state”, Mr. Kageri said. He declined to reveal what sort of changes he was talking about.

It was being demanded that quota within the quota of the 25% set aside by the Act to avoid injustice to SC/STs and backward and lower sections of the society be also considered. When asked if it had been done, Mr. Kageri said: “I will reveal all these details when the Act is passed in the House”.

Saffronisation of text books

When asked about the stark criticism that the state government has been facing over the issue of saffronisation of school text books, the Minister said that the government is going according to the prescribed norms.

“We have a team of educationists and experts. They have looked into the norms and syllabus has been drafted as per the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) guidelines. There is nothing to worry about”, Mr. Kageri said.

However activists like Renny D'Souza refute this claim of the Minister. “What they are doing is clearly against the norms of the NCF and RTE itself which says that no syllabus imparting communal hatred should be taught to the students”, he says.


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coastaldigest.com news network
June 6,2020

Belagavi, Jun 6: Suspecting that cow meat was being transported to Goa, unidentified persons set goods vehicle on fire near Karle village in Belagavi taluk last night.

The Incident came to the fore on Saturday morning.

Usually, vehicles carrying vegetables, milk and other essentials being transported to Goa and other towns plying via Karle village near Belagavi.

Sources said that for the past few days vehicles carrying meat were stopped and were handed over to police by section of activists suspecting it to be cow meat.

Persons who set the vehicle on fire were yet to be identified. Jurisdictional Belagavi Rural police have rushed to the spot. More details were awaited.

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News Network
June 19,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 19: COVID-19 cases in Karnataka has breached the 8,000 mark, as the state on Friday reported 337 new cases and ten related fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 8,281 and death toll to 124.

Also, total discharges in the state breached 5,000 mark, with 230 patients getting discharged in a day after recovery.

As of June 19 evening, cumulatively 8,281 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 124 deaths and 5,210 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin.

It said out of 2,943 active cases, 2,865 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 78 are in ICU.

The ten dead include- seven from Bengaluru urban, two from Bidar and one from Vijayapura.

Out of the 337 new cases, 93 are returnees from other states, majority of them from neighboring Maharashtra,while 11 are those who returned from other countries.

The remaining cases include contacts of patients earlier tested positive, those with history of SARI and ILI, among others.

Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru accounted for 138 cases, followed by Kalaburagi 52, Ballari 37, Hassan 18, Dakshina Kannada 13, Davangere 12, Udupi 11; Bidar 10, six each from Mysuru and Koppal, four each from Yadgir, Kolar and Bengaluru rural, three each from Mandya, Dharwad, Chikkaballapura, Bagalkote and Ramanagara, two each from Tumakuru and Chikkamagaluru, and one each from Belagavi, Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga.

Kalaburagi district tops the list of positive cases, with 1,126 infections, followed by Udupi 1,050 and Bengaluru urban 982.

Among discharges Udupi tops the list with 944 discharges, followed by Kalaburagi 646 and Yadgir 477.

A total of 4,84,060 samples were tested so far, out of which 10,553 were tested on Thursday alone.

According to the bulletin,4,64,338 samples have been reported as negative, and out of them 9,862 were reported negative today.

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News Network
March 16,2020

Kalaburagi, Mar 16: Kalaburagi Deputy Commissioner B Sharat has banned the sale of liquor and ordered the closure of bars and restaurants in the district until further orders in the wake of coronavirus scare.

On Sunday, Sharat said that the public gatherings including local markets, village fairs, Urs festival in Kalaburagi district have been banned.

"Gatherings including local markets, village fairs, Urs festival in the district have been banned as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus until further orders," Sharat said.

The Karnataka Health Department on Sunday said that all the family members and other contacts of the 76-year-old man who died of coronavirus in Kalaburagi are being monitored closely.

The state government has said that six cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the state as of now, including one person who died.

"Till date, six COVID-19 cases have been reported in the state including one death. The 5 Coronavirus positive cases are in isolation at the designated hospital in Bengaluru," the government said.

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