If a decision is taken to close the government schools, then it is the teachers who have to be blamed, said Sa Raghunath, president, 12th District Kannada Sahitya Sammelan.

Speaking at a seminar on the ‘Border district and Kannada Schools: Future Path,” organised as part of the Sammelan in Malur on Sunday, he said that if a school was forced to shutdown despite performing well then it was teachers who were responsible for the debacle.

He said that a time when Kannada schools were being closed, teachers should introspect whether they were doing justice to their jobs.

“If teachers show commitment and dedication to their work, students will come to schools and will attend classes. However, in its absence parents don’t send their wards to such schools. Teachers are the key factor in the survival and closure of schools,” he added.

The schools are not being closed for the want of children. However, it is due to lack of faith of the parents in the government schools. If that faith is brought back, the schools will flourish. However, the teachers are not doing the same, Raghunath added.
Taking a dig at the teachers, Dr K V Srinivasmurthy, who presided over the seminar, criticised double standards adopted by the teaching community.

He said that the stance taken by the government school teachers itself was responsible for the closure of the schools.

The teachers sent their wards to private schools and hoped that the Kannada-medium schools, where they teach should not be closed. Only when this doubled standard is clipped, will the schools prosper, he added. He also accused the people occupying top posts in the Kannada Sahitya Parishath of also involving in the double standards.

The current yardstick of one teacher for 30 students, is unethical and absurd. Instead, government should provide a classroom for every standard and every classroom should have a teacher, he added and said that the government should provide necessary facilities for this.

In some schools, students of two standards share the same classroom and there is just one teacher. Under such circumstances, no quality education can be provided to students, Srinivasmurthy added.

Good response

The two-day literary function attracted a lot of literature enthusiastics from across the district. Interestingly, a large number of women took in both the days events.