Mandya: Student slips into river, dies
Mandya, October 06: A student accidentally slipped into Cauvery river and died near Boredevaru temple at Mandya Koppalu in Srirangapatna taluk on Saturday evening.
The student is identified as Nikhil (16), son of Siddaraju of Aravattige Koppalu village. He was studying 10th standard at Arekere high school. After school, he along with four of his friends had been to Cauvery river for swimming. Nikhil who was standing on a boulder slipped into the river and drowned. The body was fished out from the river with the help of locals, said Arekere police who registered a case.
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No proposal to shift control of PU officials to Zilla Panchayats, says Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa on Tuesday asserted that there is no proposal to transfer administrative control of Pre-University education officials to Zilla Panchayats.
The minister's clarification comes in the wake of lecturers threatening to boycott evaluation work over this reported move to shift control.
Reacting to this issue during zero hour of the state's legislative council, the minister said that he had already discussed the subject with legislators and stakeholders and clarified the government's stand. He also warned against pressure tactics such as boycotting the evaluation, stressing that it would harm students' interests.
"I clearly stated that there is no such proposal and we will not do it under any circumstances," Bangarappa said, reiterating that no government order had been issued in this regard.
The government has not taken any decision to shift administrative control of Deputy Directors of PU education to Zilla Panchayats, he added.
On pending dues, the minister said financial clearances have been obtained, and payments would be credited to lecturers' accounts "by around the 20th." The minister further said that resorting to a boycott call after discussions "amounts to acting against the interests of children," and urged teachers to resolve issues through dialogue.
"The welfare of students is paramount... laws and decisions must ultimately benefit children," he said, appealing to lecturers to reconsider their stand.
Earlier, Congress MLC Puttanna raised the issue, citing media reports that lecturers were opposing the move to bring PU colleges under Zilla Panchayats and that they had threatened to boycott evaluation work. He cautioned that such a move would lead to "interference from multiple levels" and "a decline in quality of education," besides creating administrative confusion.
Puttanna also urged the government to continue to maintain PU education's control under the education department and to immediately revise the evaluation honorarium, which he said had not been updated for three years. He demanded clearance of pending dues and timely payments henceforth.
JD(S) MLC Bhojegowda echoed similar concerns and sought the withdrawal of a proposed file on the issue. He also called for revision of lecturer-student ratios as per NCERT norms, restoration of the examination division under the PU Directorate, and withdrawal of orders affecting aided college lecturers.
Bhojegowda warned that if demands were not met, lecturers and staff were considering a statewide boycott of PU-II answer script evaluation and an indefinite protest in Bengaluru.
Reiterating the government's position, Bangarappa said discussions remained open but emphasised that "in the interest of children, we will not proceed with this."
