Karwar: The Uttara Kannada zilla panchayat has decided to send a proposal to the government asking it to get necessary changes in norms to accord permission to run private high schools in Malendau districts if it has a minimum of 30 students.
The zilla panchayat passed a resolution in this regard at the zilla panchayat general body meeting held in Karwar on Tuesday. ZP member G N Hegde Muregar proposed this matter at the meeting presided over by ZP president Jayashri Moger.
“As per current norms, there should be at least 75 students to run a private high school. However, this norm has been causing problems for education development in rural areas of Malenadu districts. In Sirsi taluk alone, four to five schools are on the verge of getting closed down and in such case, the investments made by the schools go waste. Therefore, a proposal has to be sent to the government to relax the ‘minimum student’ norm for Malenad districts. If the proposal is accepted, these schools can be saved,” Hegde said.
ZP member Basavaraj Dodmani supported him and questioned why such norms were in place for private schools when government schools had no such restriction.
Poor quality building
Member Pushpa Naik brought to the notice of the meeting that the building of the Chittar Government High School in Honnavar taluk was constructed just three years back but the walls had already developed cracks. The doors and flooring of the classrooms too had damaged and that was causing inconvenience to the children. She, ultimately, complained that the building work was poor in quality.
Responding to this, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Mohammad Roshan directed the deputy director of the Public instruction department to seek a report on the agency which had constructed the building and then initiate necessary action against the contractor.
Pushpa Naik also complained that the physical education teachers of Karwar Education District were not getting promotions like their counterparts in Sirsi Education District. To this, CEO Roshan directed officers to submit a list of teachers awaiting promotions, the number of students and vacant posts.
Vacancy in health centres
During a discussion on the Health Department, many members said that several primary health centres of the district did not have enough doctors and staff nurses. District Health Officer Ashok Kumar said as many as 37 posts of specialist doctors were vacant in the district. He added that not many doctors were ready to work in rural areas and that was a major problem. This apart, certain government guidelines were also coming in the way of appointments.
Member Nagaraj Naik said that there were no staff nurses in Bilgi Primary Health Centre in Siddapur taluk and doctors in Kyadagi. Both these places were vulnerable to Kyasanur Forest Disease and hence, attention must be paid towards it. Responding to this issue, CEO Roshan said that till an appointment was made, in-charge doctors and nurses must be sent to those health centres from the nearest health centre.
A resolution was also passed to felicitate Tulsi Gowda selected for the Padma Shri award.
Vice-president Santosh Renake, Standing Committee President Sanjay Hanbar, Jayamma, Krishna Hiralli, Ratnakar Naik and others were present.
Kaiga expansion
The issue of establishment of the fifth and sixth units of Kaiga Atomic Power Station was discussed at the zilla panchayat general body meeting in Karwar. After the discussion regarding its impact on the environment and the local people, a unanimous resolution to oppose the expansion project was passed.