Dear Editor,
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced free water and free power supply to government schools. This is like lake water dropped into lake. If the government schools are given free supply, the government curtails the grants to be given to such schools. Free water supply and free power supply do not alleviate the problems of the parents of the school students. People are gravitated towards private schools for admission of their children notwithstanding hefty donations and hefty fees to be paid. Education among private operators is more a commercial activity than imparting education to students at nominal cost. Government schools are unable to withstand the competition from private schools management. Merit is the casualty in recruitment of teaching staff. Poorest of the poor people send their wards to government schools much against their own willingness to send them to private schools. To be precise, the poor people send their children to government schools more due to compulsion than out of choice. It is no great thing for private schools to be in flying colours with good results of students. The private schools give admission to meritorious students only. Good results are the corollary of the meritorious students finding seats on payment of huge donations in private schools. Waiving off water charges and power charges makes no difference to the students and their parents. The government schools must be equipped to provide good education with the recruitment of knowledgeable teachers and with infrastructures made available. Mid-day meal is being provided in government schools. It is a well-conceived idea. But that has not been attracting the students to join the government schools. With no mid-day meal in private schools, the strength of the students is higher there compared to government schools. Instead of providing free water supply and free power supply to government schools, the government would do well to provide books and other study materials free of cost. Private tuitions by the government schools have been proscribed. Still it has not been stopped. Allured by good earnings from private tuitions, the teachers in government schools show little interest in teaching in schools. Government school buildings present poor look whereas the houses of government school teachers present magnificent look. Private school buildings present magnificent look whereas the houses of private school teachers present poor look. While discipline among students and desire for learning by them are inculcated in private schools, the government schools with teachers without profound knowledge in subjects can hardly motivate the students to embark on studies. Notable exceptions are there in government schools also. Teachers in privately managed schools work hard because they can be removed from service at the drop of a hat. They have to endure every difficulty. The government should rein in the private school managements which deny salary to the teaching or non-teaching staff for the entire period of holidays if a teacher applies for leave on any working day intervening between or preceding or succeeding holidays. This policy cuts a big hole in the pockets of working staff in private schools. The government as a licence issuing authority for opening private schools must throw spanner at unfair labour practices by private management. Anything given free for government schools or colleges does not benefit the students.
K.V. Seetharamaiah