A reality check of Karnataka govt schools

Karantaka government records say 99 per cent of the government schools in the state have basic facilities, including functioning toilets for girls and boys, drinking water, classrooms and electricity. However, on the ground, the situation seems to be completely different as several schools that DH reporters went to lacked one or the other facility.

Poor school buildings, lack of toilets and poor drinking water supply are common complaints.

There are 49,679 government schools in Karnataka, out of which 21,045 are primary schools (1-5), 22,086 upper-primary schools (1-8), 5,051 secondary schools (1-10) and 1,497 higher secondary (1-12).

According to the Karnataka Economic Survey-2023, 98.86 per cent of the government schools are functioning in their own buildings, while the remaining are functioning in rent-free or rented buildings.

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There are 2.02 lakh classrooms in government schools, out of which 74.79 per cent are in good condition, 11.71 per cent of classrooms need minor repairs and 27,358 classrooms require major repairs.

Officials in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts claim that the infrastructure of government schools is in good condition.

However, a reality check at the government higher primary school at Konalu in Kadaba taluk of Dakshina Kannada district shows that six classrooms were in deplorable condition and not in use.

The roofs of these classrooms have become weak and might collapse any moment.

“We have written to the deputy commissioner, officials of the department concerned and minister in the past. However, nothing has changed,” said School Development and Management Committee president Rafeeq Konalu.

Owing to the crumbling infrastructure, there is a drastic decline in the number of students in the school. Fearing threat to the life of children, parents are shifting children, he added.

Udupi DDPI K Ganapathi told DH that 200 classrooms are being built across the district at a cost of Rs 29 crore.

Another Rs 1.5 crore is being spent to repair 700 classrooms. The repairs of the roofs, doors, windows and benches are being carried out, he said.

The situation is no different in Kalaburagi district, one of the most backward regions of the state.

Kalaburagi DDPI Sakrappagouda Biradar said a proposal has been sent to rebuild 64 classrooms in the district which are in a very dilapidated condition.

“There are 10-15 schools whose roofs leaks in monsoon. We have to address this,” he said.

Another important factor that improves attendance at schools is toilets, especially for girl students.

According to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22, a government of India-sponsored survey, 97 per cent of government schools have functioning toilets for girls and 93 per cent of schools have boys’ toilets.

However, a majority of schools told DH that though they have toilets, there is a need for additional toilets.

The schools at Hongyam and Nelluru, two border villages in Chamarajanagar, have defunct toilets as they have not been maintained properly.

DDPI H K Pandu acknowledged that there are certain schools in the district that need additional toilets to match the pupils’ strength.

As per data provided by the state government to UDISE+, 97.9 per cent of the total government schools have a functional drinking water supply.

But in Dakshina Kannada, nearly 40 schools are facing a water crisis during peak summer.

DDPI Dayananda Nayak said that the zilla panchayat CEO has directed taluk panchayat EOs and gram panchayats to ensure there is no water crisis in schools.

The CEO has directed officials to supply water through tankers to schools in case of a necessity.

R Vishal, Commissioner for Public Instruction, said there are no schools in Karnataka which lack basic facilities.

“However, there are some which need additional classrooms and toilets. These are recurring needs that the government has been addressing on a regular basis. There is no dearth of funds and based on the requirement from district administrations, funds are allocated,” he said.

(With inputs from Naina J A in Mangaluru, Pavan Kumar H in Hubballi, Vittal Shastri in Kalaburagi, Gayathri V Raj in Mysuru, Nrupathunga S K in Shivamogga and Manjushree G Naik in Udupi).