Southern States - Karnataka   

Private schools, colleges to go on strike

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE Aug. 18. Several private aided schools and colleges in Karnataka will go on an indefinite strike from Monday in response to a "bandh" call given by various associations representing private managements and employees of the institutions. With several demands, the associations are in a defiant mood though the Government says that its recent Order has fulfilled many of them.

Among the demands are those seeking facilities available for government school and college teachers, for private aided institutions, regularisation of temporary lecturers, and filling of vacant teachers' posts.

The organisations have come together under the banner of the "Coordination Committee of the Struggle of the Associations of Private Managements and Employees of Aided Institutions in Karnataka".

The organisations want the Government to withdraw the order banning recruitment or filling of vacant teachers and non-teaching posts and extending aid to the posts already filled. Extending grant-in-aid to unaided schools and colleges is also on the agenda.

Another demand is to extend UGC scales to pre-university college teachers and parity of wages of teachers working in Union and State Government-run schools and colleges. Private managements are upset with what they termed the Government's "interference'' in the college admission process, specifically that of junior colleges.

On its part, the Government has made it clear that not all demands could be met, as financial expenditure cannot be borne by the State alone.

The Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education, B.K.Chandrashekar, has reminded private-aided managements that the Government, through an order issued on August 7, removed curbs on direct recruitment in high schools, and permission was likely to be given to fill vacant posts.

Permission had been granted to private aided high schools to fill 1,873 posts identified as valid, leaving out the ones which were in excess after a redeployment exercise, Prof. Chandrashekar told The Hindu. The school management itself could make the appointment provided three conditions of eligibility, validity, and excess posts were met, he said.

He drew attention to the proposed action to renew recognition of schools every three years as against annual recognition. Besides, he said, an order would be issued to include schools managed by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes within the grant-in-aid code. Moreover, all cases of ESMA against PU teachers had been withdrawn in Bangalore and steps were being taken for a similar move in Mysore, he said.

He talked about regularisation of appointments in aided schools within three months of the date of establishment of schools.

Meanwhile, the proposed agitation has received support from various organisations, including the Federation of University and College Teachers Association in Karnataka, the All India Students Federation and other associations of students and teachers.

The Federation of University and College Teachers' Associations in Karnataka in a unanimous resolution said any attempt in the guise of globalisation and liberalisation to tamper with or to terminate the grant-in-aid system by the governments "will amount to a great betrayal of the educational rights of the poor, backward classes, minorities, and dalit students.''

It urged the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, and the Ministers concerned to "immediately open the doors of dialogue and discussion with the leadership of the agitation.''

In another statement, the All India Students Federation urged the Government to extend facilities such as free textbooks and uniforms, mid-day meals, subsidised fee structure for girl students and other benefits to private college students as well.

Any discrimination in this regard would have serious consequences on the students' minds, it said.

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