Zero admissions to Class I in 55 govt schools in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi districts
Mangaluru, Jul 9: Many government primary schools in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi are facing a situation in which not a single student has enrolled for Class I (first grade) during the current academic year.
Sources at the Directorate of Public Instruction said the statistics till June 30 have confirmed that no student has applied for admission to first grade in 55 government primary schools in DK and Udupi.
A few students have enrolled in some other schools where classes have started. If the current trend continues, the primary schools will have to be closed down in future, sources said.
Zero admissions for Class 1 have been recorded in 24 schools in DK, including two schools in Puttur taluk, four in Bantwal, three in Belthangady, two in Mangaluru North, two in Mangaluru South, three in Moodbidri and eight schools in Sullia taluk.
ALSO READ: Car accident near Mangaluru: Four people injured, three cows dead as car hits cattle
DK Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) R Dayanand said there is still time left for admissions and children are likely to join the first grade class. The grade-wise data accumulation process is underway, he said.
In Udupi district also, zero admissions for class I have been recorded in 31 schools. These include four schools in Udupi, four in Brahmavar, five in Kundapura, nine in Byndoor and nine schools in Karkala taluk.
According to Udupi DDPI B Ganapati, the environment in government schools is complementary to quality education and parents should be made aware of this. Everyone should take initiative to send their children to schools in their respective villages and preserve the institutions, he said.
Experts in the field say the parents are not willing to send their wards to government schools with the strong presence of English medium schools in almost all localities. They also provide bus services for children to their doorstep which attracts parents, they said.
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.
Explosive device kills 13, injures 38 on bus in southwestern Colombia as violence persists
Bogota (Colombia) (PTI): An explosive device killed 13 people travelling on a bus in southwestern Colombia on Saturday, an attack the country's army chief described as a “terrorist act" that also left at least 38 injured as violence linked to drug trafficking in the region escalates.
Octavio Guzman, the governor of the region of Cauca, said on X that the device was set off while the bus was travelling along the Panamerican Highway in the municipality of Cajibio. Five children were among the injured, Cauca Health Secretary Carolina Camargo told Noticias Caracol, a TV news program.
Gen. Hugo Lopez, commander of Colombia's Armed Forces, told a news conference that it was a “terrorist act" and blamed the network of a man known as “Ivan Mordisco” — one of Colombia's most wanted figures — and the Jaime Martínez faction. Both are dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that operate in the region.
Neither Ivan Mordisco nor the Jaime Martínez faction abide by the peace agreement signed with the state in 2016.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the attack on X.
“Those who carried out the attack and killed seven civilians — and wounded 17 others — in Cajibío — many of them Indigenous people — are terrorists, fascists, and drug traffickers,” he wrote.
The attack is the latest in a spate of explosions that have attempted to target public infrastructure. At least 26 incidents have taken place in the past two days in southwestern Colombia, which Lopez said have only affected civilians.
They included a shooting at a police station in the rural area of Jamundi, and an attack on a Civil Aviation radar facility in El Tambo, where authorities took down three explosives-laden drones earlier on Saturday. No one was hurt.
On Friday, two vehicles rigged with explosives were detonated near military units in Cali and Palmira, causing material damage.
The escalation of violence in that region — a territory contested by illegal armed groups linked to drug trafficking — prompted the mobilisation of high-ranking officials on Saturday. Led by Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez, the delegation that includes regional governors and local authorities, was meeting in Palmira when the deadly explosion occurred.
“These criminals seek to instil fear, but we will respond with firmness,” Sanchez said on X.
Meanwhile, Francisca Toro, governor of Valle del Cauca, has called upon the national government to provide “immediate support.” In a message on X, Toro called for a reinforcement of public security forces, enhanced intelligence operations and “decisive actions” against crime in the face of a “terrorist-level escalation.”
According to authorities, Cauca and Valle del Cauca serve as a critical hub for illicit activities of illegal armed groups vying for control over sea and river access routes leading to the port of Buenaventura — a key transit point used to traffic drugs to Central America and Europe.
The government has also offered a reward of more than 1 million dollars for information leading to the capture of “Marlon,” who is identified as the leader of the region's dissident group. On Friday, local authorities offered more than USD 14,000 for information leading to the identification and location of those behind the attacks in Cali and Palmira.
