JOIN USZP earmarks `25 lakh under SSA for Naxal-hit areas
The Zilla Panchayat has earmarked Rs 25 lakh under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to provide basic facilities for the students in Naxal-infested areas of Belthangady taluk in Dakshina Kannada.
Addressing a press meet here on Tuesday, Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr K N Vijyaprakash said that there are 24 schools in nine gram panchayats and 12 villages with 2,496 students. All the school children will be given a bag, sandals, umbrella, geometry box, note books and English dictionary.
The schools will get science kit, aqua guard, and consumer awareness books. All the 472 female students will be given sanitary napkins free of cost. Around 13 teachers have been appointed on contract basis to the schools which had shortage of teachers in the nine gram panchayats. The remuneration for the teachers will be paid through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyana.
The work on a residential school at Belthangady has been started at a cost of Rs 154.53 lakh. The school can accommodate 100 students.
Differently-abled children
The Cooperative Societies in the district have agreed to adopt 5,186 differently-abled children in the age group of six to 14 in Dakshina Kannada. There are 7,944 children with special needs (CWSN) who are in the age group of three to 18 in the district. A software has been developed under SSA to keep a track on these children, said the CEO.
He said that as many as 1,311 teachers have been trained to create awareness among the teenage female students on the adolescent problems and the ways to tackle it. Yoga will be imparted to all the students in the district and 100 teachers were trained for the same at Ujire.
Stating that the ZP wanted to construct compound walls for 500 schools in the district, he said under SSA, the government has released Rs 5.81 crore which will help to construct compound walls of 113 schools. A sum of Rs 1.18 crore has been released for providing furnitures in 183 government schools. A sum of Rs 15.60 lakh is released for constructing additional toilets for female students in 13 government schools.
New teachers
SSA district Project Co-ordinator Shivaprakash said that 265 part time teachers will be appointed under SSA during the year. Accordingly, 130 art teachers and 135 work education teachers will be appointed. The teachers will visit those schools with above 100 students to teach art and work education.
Computer aided learning
The government schools in the district are also gearing up with smart classes. The State government has decided to convert classrooms through the Computer Aided Learning Centre (CALC) programme of the state government.
The department has already provided computers to 120 government higher primary schools in Dakshina Kannada district. Currently, the department provides five computers and other accessories each to schools under the programme. The government has sanctioned computers to 19 more schools recently. A sum of Rs 50 lakh has been released for the purpose, he added.
He said that the enrolment ratio is declining owing to the decline in population growth. As many as 3,14,220 students were enrolled to schools in 2001-02. However, it has declined to 2,73,555 in 2011-12.
The district SSA has come out with a theme song on Sarva Shiksha Abhiyana, highliting all the aspects. The theme song Sarva Shiksha Abhiyana ujwala bhavishyakke varadaana....’ is written by Seetha R Shet of Belthangady. ZP Shailaja Bhat, Vice-President Dhanalakshmi Janardhan and DDPI Moses Jayashekar among others were present.