Due to the shortage of adequate funds for the maintenance of government schools, teachers and administrations are demanding free electricity and water.
The Karnataka State Primary School Teachers Association (KSPSTA) submitted a proposal to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah requesting to provide free electricity and water for all Government Primary and High schools across the State.
In its letter, KSPSTA said that the government was providing funds for maintenance in instalments. But the electricity and water bills, particularly in the cities like Bengaluru, are coming up to ₹7,000 to ₹8,000 a month. Due to the fund crunch, it is not possible to pay the bills, they said, requesting the Chief Minister for free electricity and water for all the government schools.
Eligibility for funds
The Department of School Education and Literacy provides a ‘School Fund’ for the maintenance of all government schools on the basis of the number of students enrolled. According to the order of Samagra Shikshana Karnataka, a government school which has 1 to 30 students is eligible for ₹ 10,000 per annum.
A school which has an enrolment of up to 100 students is eligible for ₹25,000 per annum, up to 250 students ₹50,000, up to 1,000 schools ₹75,000 and above 1,000 students ₹1 lakh per annum as maintenance charge.
But, according to school sources, the government has not been providing adequate funds for maintenance for four to five years. Instead, they are being provided with the fund for only drinking water and toilet cleaning. Many schools located in Bengaluru and other cities are facing a fund crunch for maintenance and have even reported having failed to pay the electricity and water bills and faced disconnection.
Water supply disconnected
Speaking to The Hindu, a teacher from Government Higher Primary School, Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, said, “Last year, shockingly, we received ₹50,000 worth of water bills. For many years, the water bills were not paid to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), and later they disconnected the water for our school. Teachers and students faced a lot of problems. Then, with the help of donors, non-government organisations and KSPSTA, we paid the water bill and got the water connection again,” they said.
A teacher from Government Urdu School, Ramanagara District, said, “We have about 250 students in our school every year. According to the department order, we are eligible to get ₹ 25,000 school funds per annum for school maintenance. We only got the full amount in the academic year of 2015-16. In the academic year 2016-17, we got ₹ 12,000 only. Then, year by year, this amount is reducing. Now we are getting only ₹ 2,500 to 3,000 per annum, which is only enough for toilet cleaning and drinking water. Most of the time, we are paying electricity bill from our pocket.”
The headmistress of Karnataka Public School (KPS), Bengaluru, said, “There is a primary school, a high school and a pre-university College on our premises. So, the number of students and maintenance charge is also high. We are paying around ₹3,000 to ₹4,000 electricity bill per month. Therefore, what the government is providing as a school fund is not enough for all the maintenance charges. Recently, the State government announced 200 units of free electricity per household. We are also requesting the government to extend this facility for all the government schools.”
