Govt schools have shortage of 45,590 teachers: Karnataka Minister
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): Karnataka has a shortage of 45,590 teachers against the sanctioned post of 1,78,935 for 41,088 government primary schools, state School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa said on Thursday.
In a written reply to the starred question of BJP MLA Harish Poonja, Bangarappa said in the Assembly that there is a shortfall of 12,134 teachers in government high schools. Out of 44,144 sanctioned posts, 32,010 posts were filled.
According to the minister, the state has 5,024 government high schools.
"At present, to address the vacancies and for the academic year 2025–2026, 40,000 guest teachers in primary schools and 11,000 guest teachers in high schools—totalling 51,000—have been appointed to overcome the shortage of teachers and to ensure that students’ education is not affected," the minister replied.
Bangarappa said these teachers will start teaching children from the next academic year. In addition, special teachers have been appointed with a view to providing the necessary guidance to students with disabilities, he added.
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"There are 41,088 government primary schools in the state, for which 1,78,935 posts have been sanctioned. Of these, 1,33,345 posts have been filled, while 45,590 posts remain vacant. Further, there are 5,024 government high schools in the state, for which 44,144 posts have been sanctioned. Of these, 32,010 posts have been filled and 12,134 posts are vacant," the minister said in his reply to Poonja.
During the discussion, Poonja highlighted that the salary given to the guest lecturers was too less compared to their counterparts, who are permanent staff.
To this, the minister said their salaries have been increased by Rs 2,000.
The BJP MLA also highlighted that the cost of eggs and bananas given to the children under the government scheme have gone up from Rs 5 to Rs 7.5 per egg.
While the sanctioned amount given by the state government remained the same, the onus has fallen on the school staff to give eggs and bananas to the children every day.
Replying to this, he said a renowned charitable organisation has agreed to provide Rs 1,591 crore to provide eggs to the children in government schools.
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During the discussion, Poonja also sought to know the truth about the cancer scare associated with egg consumption.
In reply, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said there was no need to panic since one company was found using banned antibiotics.
According to Rao, in 2024, 147 egg samples were tested, out of which only one had failed.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
