Teachers' service in rural areas will be made mandatory, says minister

Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education, Kimmane Ratnakar, has said that the government would make teachers’ service in rural areas mandatory.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Ratnakar said legislation in this regard would be introduced in the House during the upcoming Budget session.

“We had previously decided to promulgate an ordinance to make it mandatory for government school teachers to serve in rural areas. However, with the budget session scheduled now, we are introducing legislation and will seek the approval of the House,” he said.

‘Illegal’ schools

Ratnakar said the government had begun the process of identifying schools run illegally in the State. The minister said the department would complete the list of these schools by May 29. “We should be ready with the list of illegal schools before the start of the next academic year,” he said.

The minister said the department had sought additional budget this year from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, keeping in mind the pressure on them to open new schools and colleges. Ratnakar said there were pending proposals to open 800 high schools and 451 degree colleges in the State.

Shivamogga violence

Referring to the recent communal violence in Shivamogga, Ratnakar said the situation was under control. 

The police have been investigating the entire episode without bias and they are taking stringent action against the culprits, he said.

He said there were several instances of public representatives losing elections due to communal violence in their constituencies. “We have seen several examples of MLAs losing their seats due to communal violence. Be it Kagodu Thimmappa in Sagar, K H Srinivas in Shivamogga – all of them lost. But when Idgah Maidan controversy was raked up in Hubballi, Jagadish Shettar from the BJP won. People should understand who benefits from communal violence,” he said.

Nonetheless, Ratnakar lauded the efforts of local leaders, including BJP MP B S Yeddyurappa and MLC K S Eshwarappa. He said all them had tried to calm the sentiments of people, thus defusing tension in the area.