Over 4,200 government primary schools in Karnataka have less than 10 students: Madhu Bangarappa
Bengaluru: Karnataka's School Education and Literacy Minister Madhu Bangarappa revealed that 4,264 government primary schools in the state, which is about 20 percent of the total, have fewer than 10 students enrolled.
Bangarappa was responding to a question from Shantinagar MLA N.A. Haris during the ongoing Budget session. The state currently has around 49,679 government schools, including 21,045 primary schools (Grades 1-5), 22,086 upper-primary schools (Grades 1-8), and 5,051 high schools, as reported by The Indian Express.
The minister clarified that no government primary schools in Karnataka have been shut down due to low enrolment. However, schools with no students are temporarily suspended until enrolment resumes. These schools are not merged with nearby institutions and remain available for future students.
To address low enrolment, the government conducts special drives every May and general enrolment campaigns in June, which include door-to-door visits, leaflet distribution, rallies, and marches, added the report.
Bangarappa also highlighted that students receive free textbooks, uniforms, shoes, and socks from the government. Additionally, the mid-day meal scheme provides students with lunch, along with eggs or bananas, to encourage enrolment.
“Eligible children from deprived areas attending nearby government primary and high schools receive a transport and escort allowance—Rs 2,000 for 10 months in some cases and Rs 6,000 in others. Additionally, schools such as Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) Schools, KGBV Hostels, Karnataka Public Schools (KPS), and model schools are run to support the education of girls and children from special categories,” he was quoted as saying by IE.
Bangarappa also mentioned that pre-primary education is being introduced in 2,619 government primary schools. In 4,196 selected government primary schools, bilingual classes are being conducted, and 600 senior grammar schools are offering English-medium education to help increase enrolment.
Education department officials pointed to several reasons for the low enrolment in government primary schools, including declining birth rates, migration, a preference for private schools, and other socio-economic factors.
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Fired from family business, nephew breaks into uncle's shops in Delhi; arrested
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi Police has arrested a 22-year-old man who allegedly stole cash, a laptop and a mobile phone from his uncle's shop in Dwarka to take revenge after he was fired from the family business, officials said on Wednesday.
Piyush Tulswani, the accused, completed his Class 11 from Rajasthan's Pilani, after which he came back to live with his family, a senior police officer said.
His father, Kishan Tulswani, used to work as a sales manager at his uncle Jeetu's confectionery shops. After the death of his father, Piyush took up his position, the officer said.
Soon, Piyush started embezzling money from the shops, and was fired after Jeetu took note of the act, police said.
His mother also reprimanded him for embezzling money, after which Piyush left home and started living with his friend, the officer said.
Piyush hatched a plot to steal money from his uncle’s shops, which he knew well. Acting on his plan, he took his brother's scooter and broke open each shop, stealing cash, a laptop and a mobile phone.
On January 31, Jeetu reported the matter to police, accusing Piyush of committing burglaries at his shops located in Sector-18, Sector-11, Sector-12 and Sector-4, Dwarka, the officer said.
Jeetu also provided CCTV camera footage from the shops, in which Piyush could be seen breaking them open, he said.
Tracing his mobile phone locations to Safdarjang, Hauz Khas, Rajapuri and Dabri, police conducted several raids.
“He later switched off his phone to restrict access to his location,” the officer said.
On February 13, police received information that Piyush would come to the fruit mandi in Dabri around 9.30 am. Accordingly, a trap was laid, leading to the arrest of the accused, he said.
Initially, he did not confess to the crime, but when police showed him the CCTV clips, he admitted to committing the burglaries, the officer said.
