Karnataka - Bangalore   

State plans quota for less meritorious students in colleges

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: To put an end to the donation menace and enable students get admission in junior colleges, the Government is planning to bring out a policy for reserving 50 per cent of seats in colleges to students who have secured less than 50 per cent marks in the SSLC examination.

Addressing presspersons after a meeting with officials of the department here on Thursday, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Basavaraj Horatti said the donation menace in junior colleges had reached such a proportion that getting a seat in these institutions had gone beyond the reach of ordinary students.

A student who has secured 80 per cent marks in the SSLC examination has been denied a seat in some colleges. Marimallappa’s College, Mysore, offered admission to only those students who secured more than 90 per cent marks in the SSLC examination, he said.

On account of the high percentage of pass in the SSLC examination held last April, many colleges had denied seats to students who had secured less than 50 per cent marks. The department was planning to announce a policy directing all junior colleges in the State to reserve 50 per cent of seats for students who scored less than 50 per cent marks. The issue would be discussed with Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, and if required it would be brought before the Cabinet, Mr. Horatti said.

There were students’ protests in districts this year against the admission process followed by some schools and colleges. The anti-donation committee constituted at the zilla panchayat level seemed to be ineffective in eliminating the donation menace. The department had received many complaints about the donation menace and denial of seats to students, the Minister said.

Mr. Horatti said teachers had been instructed against taking tuitions at their homes. Only those institutions registered with the department would be allowed to conduct tuitions. Action would be initiated against errant teachers, he warned.

As many 12,239 teaching posts, including those of lecturer in junior colleges, would be filled in the current academic year (2007-08). About 3,300 primary school teacher posts would be reserved for those candidates who had crossed 29 years of age and satisfy the eligibility norms. About 1,200 lecturer vacancies would be filled through the Karnataka State Public Service Commission in a few months. The Finance Department had cleared the proposal, he said.

A meeting with managements of unrecognised schools would be called after the Karnataka High Court pronounced its verdict on the issue. The Government had levied penalty on private schools that violated the policy on the medium of instruction. A large number of schools, who violated the rule on the medium of instruction, had paid the penalty, Mr. Horatti added.

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