He minces no words when he says that government schools are finding it tough to compete with private schools.  “The time has come to take a hard decision on languishing schools. We will manage funds to provide good uniform, books and other facilities on a par with private ones. Our teachers are better equipped than many private school staff. We will also teach English as a subject. The challenge is to put across these points to parents in a very convincing way,” he says.

He points out sending children in vans/autos to private school has become a fad in small towns too. Similar facility will be provided to government schoolchildren too. “As many as 5,000 autos will ferry students to schools. Hope the transition will be smooth.

Our schools are not inferior to any private schools. We are imparting education in Kannada because we are adhering to government policy. There are no lacunae in teaching as such.”

To a question as to why the Department of Public Instruction has chosen Channarayapatna for its experiment, Chamaraja says, “It is because we have a progressive MLA. Without political support and co-operation of local bodies, it is difficult to effect any change.  There is a saying that if you want to win, you should know how to serve.”