The Hindu (National) ·
Aided institutions threaten to close schools, colleges from November 3
The management and employees of private aided educational institutions in Karnataka, particularly in North Karnataka, have threatened to shut schools and colleges indefinitely from November 3 if the State government fails to address their long-pending demands relating to pension, recruitment, service benefits, and administrative issues.
Former Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti, who is also the president of the Private Aided Institutions’ Management and Employees Agitation Coordination Committee, told presspersons in Hubballi on Thursday that aided primary and secondary schools and pre-university colleges, which had played an important role in providing education in the State for several decades, were now facing several financial, administrative, and service-related problems.
Mr. Horatti said that 69.78% of the total private aided Kannada medium schools and colleges in the State were located in North Karnataka (Belagavi and Kalaburagi divisions), while 17% were in Mangaluru, and 13% in the Bengaluru division. “The highest number of such aided institutions are in North Karnataka, and over 9,000 posts are vacant. In order to highlight the problems, a protest march will be taken out in Dharwad on November 2, and a memorandum will be submitted to the Chief Minister. We have brought our problems to the notice of the government well in advance, and if there is no positive response, we will be forced to lock down the institutions from November 3”, he said.
