Mangaluru: Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa announced that the state government will soon begin recruiting over 18,000 teachers for both government-run and government-aided private schools.

Speaking to reporters at the district Congress office in Mangaluru, Bangarappa revealed that 13,000 positions would be filled in government schools, while 5,800 openings would be for aided schools. He emphasised that all applicants would need to have cleared the Teachers’ Entrance Test (TET). The recruitment process is expected to be completed by the 2026-27 academic year.

Additionally, the minister shared plans to provide free notebooks to students in government schools from the 2026-27 academic year, with a corresponding budget allocation for the initiative.

In a separate development, Bangarappa revealed that the Karnataka Cabinet has approved the expansion of Karnataka Public Schools (KPS). Following the successful operation of 80% of the existing 308 KPS institutions, which provide affordable, quality education up to Class 12, the state government will set up 800 more KPS schools to cater to the growing demand.

Addressing a recent issue involving the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district administrations, Bangarappa defended the decision to initiate disciplinary proceedings against teachers who failed to attend the Social and Educational survey. He clarified, “If it is found that the action was unwarranted, we will certainly review it. Our teachers are valued, and we will protect them.”

He added that over 95% of teachers in the districts had actively participated in the survey.

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Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.

The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.

As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.

"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.

"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.

Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.