Bengaluru: Sandalwood actor, producer Darshan Thoogudeepa on Friday apologized to the Karnataka media and journalists, over his rift between the journalists following a viral audio clip that leaked a few years back.

The actor Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote, “that the Lets move ahead keeping aside and forgetting the bitter past incidents.”

In the tweet he extended his greetings to the people of Karnataka, Celebrities, senior journalists and media friends on the occasion of Vara Mahalakshmi and continued on his post informing that the rift started about two years back between him and the media, journalists. Meanwhile, prior to the Varamahalakshmi festival my friend Rockline Venkatesh initiated talks with the editors of the leading Kannada media outlets which brought a happy ending to the entire matter, he informed.

Further expressing over the viral audio incident, he stated that “the audio that was Maliciously leaked a few years back had created a controversial situation giving a wrong message to the media, where I had only reacted to the statements of that person, and it was not intended towards the rest of the media industry. I am not aware of that person’s intentions; however I wish that he prospers and that the person should not commit such negative intentions in the future.”

“However, if my words have hurt them, there is nothing wrong in apologizing to the seniors in the media industry. Let there be forgiveness from the fourth pillar of democracy, the media for this untoward incident. There is a need for good media for the betterment of society. I am even proud of the media. In my journey in the world of cinema, the media has provided ample support and promotion with affection. Let's move forward, leaving behind the bitter incident that happened in the past. Let's work together for the progress of Kannada, Kannadigas, Kannada Land, Kannada cinema, I believe that my dearest celebs will be honoring my feelings,” he added.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



New Delhi: School enrolment in India has declined for the third year in a row, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Education, highlighting a concerning trend in the country's school education system.

The latest figures from the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), as cited by Scroll on Friday, reveal that total school enrolment stood at 24.6 crore in 2024–25, down from 24.8 crore in 2023–24 and 25.1 crore in 2022–23. This marks a drop of 11 lakh students in the most recent academic year.

The data indicates that the decline is primarily concentrated in government and government-aided schools, while private schools continue to see an increase in enrolment. Between 2022–23 and 2024–25, enrolment in government and aided schools dropped significantly from 13.6 crore to 12.1 crore. In contrast, private school enrolment rose from 8.4 crore to 9.5 crore during the same period.

As a result, private institutions now account for 39% of total enrolment, the highest share since 2018–19. The shift in preference is also reflected in the number of institutions: government schools fell slightly from 10.18 lakh in 2023–24 to 10.13 lakh in 2024–25, while the number of private schools grew from 3.31 lakh to 3.79 lakh.

The sharpest decline in enrolment was observed among children aged 3 to 11 years where enrolment dropped by 25 lakh in 2024-25 compared to the previous year. However, modest increases were reported at the pre-primary, upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels.

This trend aligns with findings from the 2024 Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), released earlier in January, which also highlighted a post-pandemic decline in government school enrolments.