AIDSO protests against Congress government’s move to allow adoption of govt. schools by private institutions

Hundreds of students affiliated with the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) protested in Dharwad on Friday, opposing the state government's decision to permit private institutions and corporations to adopt government schools and educational facilities. Addressing the demonstrators, AIDSO district secretary Shashikala Meti accused the Congress government, which had sworn to safeguard government schools, of pursuing policies like the Karnataka Public Schools (KPS)-Magnet initiative and a deal with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that would degrade the public education system.

Meti stated that the government had convened a meeting at Vidhana Soudha on November 4 to transfer ownership of government schools to private entities and corporations, with an initial plan to transfer control of 2,000 schools. She denounced the move as a betrayal of the public. Meti also criticized Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and government officials for allegedly disparaging government school teachers and attributing poor educational standards to them, while ignoring the flaws in their own policies.

She proposed that private institutions adopt three government schools each, providing them with the right to name the schools after themselves. Additionally, other proposals included assigning teachers from private schools and supplying old buses, laboratory equipment, and computers. Meti argued that the government should rectify the shortcomings in public education and hire enough teachers rather than delegating its duties to private entities.

She also alleged that 14 government schools had already merged with the KPS in Hegganuru, Bengaluru South district, contradicting the government's guarantee that no government school would be closed. Meti demanded an immediate reversal of the government's educational policies and appealed to the public to join a movement against what she called the "corporate takeover" of public education.