Karnataka plans wider rollout of telescope scheme to govt schools
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka is preparing to expand its flagship telescope distribution scheme beyond the KREIS residential schools to a larger network of government schools, Minister for Science & Technology N S Boseraju said on Thursday.
The proposal for additional funding will be placed before the chief minister during the next budget meeting, he said.
The minister was speaking after inaugurating a training programme for Karnataka Residential Educational Institutions Society (KRIES) school teachers on telescope management at the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, his office said in a statement.
The initiative is part of the government's push to strengthen astronomy-based learning across the State.
Boseraju said the Department of Science and Technology is keen to extend telescope distribution to more schools, noting that the current project covering KRIES institutions has already achieved a significant milestone.
"Under the scheme, 833 residential schools and PU colleges have each received a telescope, at a total cost of Rs 3 crore. No other government department in the country has implemented such a large-scale initiative," he said.
Underscoring the need to cultivate scientific temper, rational thinking, and curiosity among students, in an era driven by knowledge and innovation, he further said, multiple initiatives are being rolled out statewide to strengthen science education.
The minister said, training sessions are being held in phases to ensure KRIES teachers can properly operate, maintain, and integrate telescopes into classroom learning.
The hands-on workshop is expected to inspire a deeper interest in astronomy among students, he said.
At the event, Boseraju also unveiled the 2026 Astronomical Calendar, developed by the department. The calendar will help teachers guide students through monthly celestial events using the telescopes placed in their schools.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
