CM differs with minister, says no schools will be shut

Differing with his Cabinet colleague Kimmane Ratnakar, the Primary and Secondary Education Minister who has proposed merger of unviable schools, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday averred that no government school would be shut down.

Instead, the chief minister emphasised that the State government’s priority would be to not only impart quality education, but also encourage more enrolment in schools.

He was speaking after launching the subsidised rice scheme in the State.

Empower the poor

Observing that social justice could be ensured only by empowering the poor with education, Siddaramaiah reiterated that no school would be closed.

Ratnakar has been advocating merger of schools with less student strength.

He has been arguing that competitive atmosphere cannot exist in schools with poor enrolment, as, according to him, the government is incurring huge expenditure in running such schools, though they are not serving their purpose.

Ratnakar has said he wants to start the merger process from the next academic year and views of experts are being elicited.

Milk for students

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the government would soon supply 150 ml of milk to students of government schools.

Milk will be given thrice a week to students from Class 1 to 10.

It will not only improve the health of students, but also help the Karnataka Milk Federation cope with the problem of increased milk production, he said.