Alternative arrangements for kids, if government schools closed: Ravi

Colourful procession, cultural programmes mark 56th Rajyotsava celebrations

With the talks on closing down of government Kannada medium schools making rounds, the government is thinking on the lines of providing alternative arrangements to facilitate children who are studying in the schools with minimum strength, said Higher Education and District-in-Charge Minister C T Ravi.

He was speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the 56th Kannada Rajyotsava programme organised by the district administration at Nehru Maidan on Thursday.
Referring to Prof Govinda’s report which has recommended for closing down 12,740 government Kannada medium schools in the State with very few students, he said the government is yet to make a decision on the recommendations.

“The issue is of very serious in nature and it should be discussed in the cabinet before taking the decision. The government intends to protect Kannada, but now the question is what to do with those schools with 4-5 children. Therefore, the government is looking out for making alternative arrangements to those few children by providing buses to travel or hostels to reside. It is not enough to have a school with a board, but there must be children. At a time, when the students prefer to go to a far away convent school than the nearby government school, the society should think what should be done with schools with few children,” he said.

Rajyotsava celebration

The 56th Kannada Rajyotsava was celebrated with festive spirit in the city on Thursday. Addressing the gathering after hoisting the flag and receiving the guard of honour, Minister C T Ravi gave a call to the people to ensure that no separatist cry should be heard in the State. It is for the same reason, the State government has formed a separate committee to implement Prof Nanjudappa report and has released crores of rupees for the development of North Karnataka districts.

“The love towards language should not turn to hostility towards other language. As we respect our Kannada language and culture, we should also accept good things from the languages and culture. Briefing about various developmental work in the district, he said the government has sanctioned Rs 3.6 crore for synthetic track laying work in Mangala Stadium. The civil work has been completed and the track will be laid after the rainy season. Of the 103 work under the Chief Minister’s small and medium town development project, 88 work has been completed at a cost of Rs 22.99 crore,” he said.

Dakshina Kannada Zilla Rajyotsava awards were conferred on 19 achieves from various fileds. Special awards were given to Sahana Kumari and Sadananda Prabhu for their achievements in the field of sports. Eight students were felicitated for their outstanding achievements in the areas of art, culture, sports and education.

March past by 14 troupes and cultural programmes by the school children marked the occasion.  NCC Army wing  (Senior) won the first prize in the march past, while NCC Army wing (Senior) won the second place  in the march past.

The Rajyotsava programme began with a procession of Bhuvaneshwari accompanied by tableaus and dance teams, from Jyothi Circle to Nehru Maidan. Deputy Speaker N Yogish Bhat, MP Nalin Kumat Kateel, IGP (Western Range) Pratap Reddy, Deputy Commissioner Dr N S Channappa Gowda and others were present.