Udupi: MC Sudhakar, minister for higher education, said that the decision of the primary and secondary education department to reduce the pass percentage for SSLC and PUC needs to be discussed thoroughly. The minister told reporters here on Saturday, that he has no clear idea why the minister of primary and secondary education, Madhu Bangarappa, brought the changes. “Even I feel that a decision to reduce the pass percentage should have been taken after a careful study. Chief minister Siddaramaiah also directed the minister of primary and secondary education, that a discussion should be held on the subject,” he said.In response to a query, the minister said that many MLAs have been requesting colleges in rural areas. However, he said that the department has to conduct faculty recruitments and make other arrangements. “The govt has been focusing on strengthening the existing colleges and introducing job-oriented courses. Nearly 2,000 students joined job-oriented courses in the past two years. We introduced four degree programmes including BCom in logistics, retail, e-commerce, and banking and finance. We have signed MoU with the retail outlets of Chroma and Reliance. Students will get job opportunities during the fifth or sixth semester, he said.On Infosys founders Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty declining to participate in the Social and Educational Survey, Sudhakar said, “We have respect for the founders of Infosys, which brought laurels for the entire nation in the field of information technology. When it comes to the survey, all sections of society, by default, declare their caste. I would like to ask Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty whether they would take the same stand when the central govt conducts the caste survey next year. People, especially the younger generation, have been following them. Hence, they should think before making such decisions.”On debates related to the ban on RSS activities in govt and public places, the minister said that obtaining permission to hold programmes in public places is must for any organisation, not just RSS, and that it is mandatory in various states. “Permission is necessary to hold programmes in college grounds or public parks. People from all sections of society visit such places, which may lead to objections. Hence, let there be proper discipline so that there will be no objections for organisations to hold programmes. This will apply to all organisations, not just the RSS,” he added.
