Karnataka Education Act to be amended

 The State government will soon amend the Karnataka Education Act, 1995, making changes in the department administration.

The amendments will affect key administrative positions such as the Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) and the Block Education Officers (BEO). The tenures of the DDPIs and the BEOs will be fixed and their promotion will be performance-based.The amendments will be brought through an ordinance next month as the legislature is not in session.

Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education, Kimmane Ratnakar, said the DDPIs will be given a fixed tenure of two years and the BEOs three years, at their place of posting. The officers will not be posted to their native districts. “We felt the need for revamping the administrative setup. There is no regulation in place on the posting of DDPIs and BEOs who play a key role in the department,” Ratnakar told Deccan Herald.

Amendments would be brought to Section 8 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1995, which pertains to appointment of “district education officers and other subordinate officers.” The minister said changes were being brought in the legislation and not by amending the rules so that it becomes statutorily binding on the government.

According to sources, the department had repeatedly been receiving complaints that the DDPIs and BEOs would get postings of their choice with the help of influential elected representatives and then become complacent. There have been complaints of the officers seeking bribes to discharge their duties.

The officers have varied powers ranging from monitoring the functioning of schools, issue of ‘No Objection Certificates’ for starting new schools, registration and recognition of educational institutions, conducting examinations, teachers’ training and their promotion, besides implementing government programmes like right to education, midday meal scheme, among others.

Commissioner for Public Instruction Mohammad Mohsin said the present reforms were an extension of the changes brought to regulate transfer of teachers in the department.

The administrative setup of the Education department is vast with the State being divided into 34 educational districts and 204 educational taluks, Mohsin pointed out.