The Hindu

• The allocation last year was Rs. 11.98 crore
• One new primary school in each of the five taluks proposed
• 157 new classrooms will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 6 crore

Mangalore, May 31: The allocation for primary education in the district this year has nearly doubled over the previous year’s. The allocation for this year is Rs. 22.18 crore compared to Rs. 11.98 crore of last year.

Speaking to The Hindu, Deputy Director of Public Instruction Chame Gowda said that five new government primary schools will be started in Dakshina Kannada and 52 schools will be provided with electricity connections. “The location of the new schools is yet to be finalised but there will be one new school in each of the five taluks of the district. The acute shortage of teachers will be addressed to some extent with the appointment of 10 new teachers,” he said.

The largest portion of the fund allocation would be for civil works. As many as 157 new classrooms would be constructed at a cost of nearly Rs. 6 crore. A long standing demand of special toilets for physically challenged would be met this year as 20 such toilets would be built at a cost of Rs. 10 lakh, he said.

He said, the 1,540 schools in the district would be given a grant of Rs. 7,500 each for outstanding repair of buildings. This would amount to Rs. 1.15 crore, he added.

Some innovative activities for girls and students from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and minorities are proposed to be taken up at a cost of Rs. 28 lakh. Under this initiative, children from these communities would be given extra coaching. “Another prominent feature of this year’s budget is the Rs. 50 lakh sanctioned for computer education,” Mr. Gowda said.