Valuation may be made an 'essential service'

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, APRIL 19. The Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Mr. H. Vishwanath, said in the Legislative Assembly today the Government would consider declaring examination valuation work by teachers as an essential service to deal with the problem of frequent boycott of that work.

He was replying to the issue of the decision of the teachers to boycott valuation in the second pre- university examination.

However, the Minister appealed to the teachers to desist from keeping away from valuation and assured them that their demands would be considered with sympathy. The committee headed by the Additional Chief Secretary set up by the previous government in 1998 was already going into the demands. It had so far held three meetings.

It was the BJP member, Mr. S. Suresh Kumar, who had demanded that valuation work be declared an essential work to tackle the annual blackmail resorted to by teachers. He would neither support nor oppose their various demands.

Earlier, the Minister defended the decision taken to hold re- examination in all papers at two centres in Humnabad (Bidar District) for the pre-university examination on the ground that mass copying had taken place in the two centres. Mr. Subash Kallur (BJP) who represents Humnabad, and the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Jagadish Shettar, had questioned the decision to hold re-examination in all subjects. The latter said that it was unfair to the honest students.

Mr. Vishwanath said it was not an examination but a ``jatra'' which took place in Humnabad. The entire populace of the town had turned up at the valuation centres and not merely the candidates. The town had a history of mass copying, and officials of his department were reluctant to work there. A woman officer had to be transferred.

Mr. Vishwanath said that members of the squad set up to check copying were locked up in a room by those supporting copying. The Government had no mala fide intention in ordering a re- examination.

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Section  : Regional
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