Teacher shortages and infrastructural decay jeopardise the future of students across the state.
Bengaluru/Kalaburagi: A dilapidated building, a cracked ceiling, dripping rainwater, and two teachers conducting five classes in one classroom — these are the sights one can witness at the Vadera Basapura Tanda Government Lower Primary School in Harapanahalli taluk of Vijayanagara district. Even though grants have been sanctioned, a new building has not been constructed yet.
The school in Nichavvanahalli gram panchayat is 38 years old and has just two rooms. Out of one room operates a kitchen, and in the other room, two teachers run classes one to five.
The classroom is in shambles. Crumbling plaster pieces occasionally fall from the ceiling, evoking fear in teachers and students.
This room also serves as the headmaster’s room and houses stationery and non-curricular materials. The drinking water purifier has been kept in the Anganwadi building on the same campus due to paucity of space.
These snapshots provide glimpses of what a fund-crunched, broken education system can look like. In Karnataka, the education department gets just 11.9% of the budget — lower than the national average of 14%.
Additionally, of the Rs 35,000 crore allocation that the department receives, 97% is spent on salaries and midday meals. Only about 2.93% is put towards infrastructure needs.
The effect of this consistent lack of funding is evident in schools across the state. In south Bengaluru, a school with structural damage sits close to a stormwater drain, dangerously slanting. Despite the danger, there has been no intervention and no efforts to demolish and rebuild.
In one such instance in Davangere, an old classroom structure collapsed in a government lower primary school on July 25, but fortunately, no children were hurt. When a compound wall collapsed in May this year at Harekala Hajabba School in New Padpu, near Mangaluru, a seven-year-old girl was killed.
In another such incident, a Class seven student was seriously injured after a layer of cement from the roof collapsed at the Government Model Higher Primary School for Girls in Devadurga town in Raichur district.
“Only old structures were found to have collapsed. This is because new classrooms are added after a gap of certain years, as per requirement. Due to a fund shortage, we cannot build an entire school with proper architecture,” says B B Cauvery, Commissioner of Public Instruction.
To build new structures, the government provides Rs 14.5 lakh per classroom for primary classes and Rs 16 lakh for high schools. The Panchayat Raj Department constructs classrooms, school compounds and playgrounds in villages and small towns using funds from the education department and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).
Cauvery says the requirements always come from the local level and panchayats and local communities are empowered to decide what is needed for a school. On the ground, however, teachers from many districts tell DH, that local politics and corruption prevent this essential work from actually occurring.
Sanitation
While the collapse of buildings is a major problem, broken toilets present another persistent issue in schools. Take for example the state of a government bilingual high school in Holalkere in Chitradurga district. The school has more than 1,000 children enrolled. “The existing toilets are sufficient for only 200 students. Everyone knows more toilets are needed here,” says a source from the school.
According to the department’s own estimates, 19,401 additional classrooms, 22,689 boys’ toilets and 52,298 girls’ toilets are required in schools across the state.
Government schools in seven districts in Kalyana Karnataka had 21,44,700 students enrolled in 2023-24 and only 21,601 functional toilets. This means that on average there is one toilet per 100. The ratio to be maintained, according to the 2018 Annual Status of Education Report is one to 40.
“Over 9% of the existing toilets are non-functional. Lack of basic facilities will affect children’s health, education, and safety. Girls do not drink water throughout the day just to avoid going to the toilet. This definitely impacts their health,” says Sangeetha Kattimani, an educationist from Kalaburagi.
The shortage of functional toilets can have serious repercussions. Such a situation can lead to girls dropping out of school, especially after attaining puberty. In 2013, the Karnataka High Court initiated suo motu proceedings based on a news report that estimated that 54,000 students were out of school. The case tried to address the lack of basic infrastructural requirements in schools.
Much of the functional toilets in schools have not been maintained properly. Though the department recently allocated money for toilet maintenance, it is often inadequate and barely covers the cost of cleaning supplies, say sources from schools.