Change in Dasara holidays stir debate in Udupi ZP

As per a recent order from the DDPI, the Dasara holidays for the schools will be from September 19 to October 3 as against the usual duration from October 4 to 19.
Member Bhujang Shetty said that the revision is ridiculous and will create unreasonable mess for the students as they will have to attend the semester examinations after the vacation. Teachers who are attending the National Population Registration survey work in October will have an added burden and it will have adverse impact on the students, he said.

DDPI Mahidass informed that the circular regarding the date revision was issued as per the directions of the District- in-Charge Minister Dr V S Acharya to facilitate students to take part in the Dasara celebrations. Zilla Panchayat Education and Health Standing Committee President B K Hegde’s assurance, that the problem will be sorted out after consulting the minister, did not calm down the members who demanded a resolution on the issue. The newly elected ZP President Gladys Almeida intervened and requested the members to suspend the debate on the issue for the time being until the Home Minister was available for comments.

Later, when contacted, the Home Minister, who is currently in New Delhi, favoured the revised order but condemned the district education department for not informing the Zilla Panchayat before issuing an order.

Teachers’ woes

ZP CEO Prasanna Kumar brought out the issue of teachers not being paid properly in the schools of the district. In July, as many as 120 teachers were not paid in August. This is a serious issue that needs discussion, he said and expressed dissatisfaction over recruiting the teachers for NPR survey as this will be an additional burden for them. Pro-active modules are introduced in the schools which require the attention of teachers. The work burden may affect their performance in schools, he added.
An education department official said that the problem of payment will be solved in the month of February.

Roads

Bhujang Shetty raised the issue of the pathetic condition of the NH-17 stretch. The CEO said Central Committee had arrived recently to inspect the condition of the NH-17 and the damages occurred due to rain. The team has assured to take immediate actions. As much as Rs 50 lakh has been sanctioned for the temporary upgradation of NH-17, he said.

Hostels

The deplorable condition of the BCM hostels in the district was also discussed at the meeting. BCM department Officer Girish was questioned by the CEO for not providing necessary infrastructure. He urged him to take necessary actions in the matter.
ZP Vice President Dr Santhosh Kumar Shetty, Social Standing Committee Chairman Jerold Fernandes, Agriculture and Industrial Standing Committee President Geetha Nayak and others were present.

DH News Service