The Karnataka government has come under scrutiny from the High Court (HC) of the state over the condition of infrastructure in government schools, which has contributed to high student dropouts. The HC bench, comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice MJS Kamal, reviewed a report and photographs presented by the government and found that the condition of school toilets were pathetic. Justice MG Kamal sought to know if the officers who filed the report would send their children to such schools and said that the officers seem to have a chalta hai attitude.
The bench acknowledged that the hearing of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL), which only came up because of media reports on student dropouts, had been ongoing since 2013 and that no change was evident on the ground. The HC directed that a fresh survey of government schools should be held in the next three months, with the member-secretaries of the District Legal Service Authorities also part of the survey. The court also mandated that in the next hearing of the PIL, the report submitted by the government should be countersigned by Legal Service Authority officers.
The court criticized the allocation of government grants that were inadequate and called for the grants to be specifically earmarked for infrastructure development with a specified timeline for expenditure. The state government had informed the court that the infrastructure in schools was provided according to available government grants. The HC bench emphasized that the future of the country’s development was in jeopardy if basic necessities in schools were not prioritized.
The HC decision has called on the state’s Chief Secretary and Education Secretary to be aware of the ruling and ensure that proper attention is given to schools’ infrastructure. As students’ education for many families living below the poverty line is entirely dependent on the availability of education in government schools, it is essential that the government gives high priority to infrastructure development in schools.
