Representative image for caste census.
Credit: iStock Photo
Shivamogga: School Education and Literacy Department Minister S Madhu Bangarappa said that there is a plan to outsource the onus of conducting fresh caste survey to a private agency rather than utilising the services of government school teachers.
Addressing media people, on Saturday, he said that he has already made it clear to the government that if teachers are deployed for the survey work, it will disrupt the lessons for weeks. Therefore, teachers are not being used.
"The Centre has come forward with a caste survey due to pressure from AICC leader Rahul Gandhi and public opinion. BJP will conduct this survey for political gain. But the Congress-led government in the state is conducting caste census again with the intention of providing social justice to backward classes. Therefore, the state's caste census is more accurate, clear and reliable," he said.
The minister admitted that there is a shortage of 51,000 teachers in the School Education Department. Out of this, the government has approved the appointment of 18,000 teachers.
The recruitment will start once the internal reservation allocation and classification work is completed. Currently, that shortage is being met through the appointment of guest teachers,' he said.
The demand for Karnataka Public Schools (KPS) in the state has increased. Hence, the number of children admitted there has been increased from 30 to 50. He also said that it is planned to start at least two KPSs in each assembly constituency.
The minister, who shared the dais with retired judge of the Karnataka High Court H N Nagamohan Das, head of the commission of inquiry to recommend to the government on the internal reservation for the Scheduled Caste (SC) communities, asked him to submit a report to the government at the earliest.