Koppal: The state govt’s decision to hold a parent-teacher meeting across all govt schools and PU colleges on Friday has sparked resentment among lecturers over lunch arrangements.According to a govt circular issued on Nov 4, the meeting aims to involve parents in the all-round development of children and emphasises that schools are an integral part of the community. Scheduled to take place on Children’s Day, preparations include festive decorations and meal arrangements for parents.Teachers and lecturers have opposed aspects of the preparations, including the decoration of institutions and the arrangement of meals. While schools with midday meal programmes can manage, PU colleges without such a system are struggling with the added expense.“The govt has not proposed any grant to colleges for this. How will we arrange money for meals for all parents?” asks Rajashekar Patil, principal of Govt Pre-University College, Kinnal.Office bearers of the Govt PU College Principals’ Association and Lecturers’ Association share similar concerns, arguing that the decision appears to mandate expenses without providing a budget.The circular also states that schools and colleges should be decorated in a festive manner, but does not allocate any funds. Teachers and lecturers question how institutions will manage the expenses without specific funding. “It costs a lot of money to decorate an entire school or college. If the source of this money is not specifically mentioned, but only the responsibility is mentioned, what should the head of the school or college do?” they ask.The arrangement of meals for parents is a major point of contention. The circular suggests preparing payasam using available resources in schools with midday meals, but govt PU colleges without this system are at a disadvantage.“The number of students in govt PU colleges is high. Thus, it costs a lot to arrange meals for all the parents who attend the meeting. How will the colleges arrange money for this?” asks Rajashekar Patil.Lecturers and principals of PU colleges have expressed their concerns and submitted requests to respective DDPUs, but the govt has not responded or suggested a solution. The lack of clarity on funding has left institutions uncertain about managing expenses and sparked frustration among the teaching community. Bharat S, director of the dept of PU education, said: “This is a routine activity that takes place in PU colleges. PTMs are held three times in an academic year. This is the first time it is being held in a synchronised manner. The activity is conducted with funds available to the colleges.” “Every school has to organise three PTMs every year, and the department provides Rs 500 each for one PTM. Rs 1,500 has been released for the purpose. Schools can use this fund. We have also issued a circular from the midday meals directorate to use contents and materials from our schemes and the school grants for organising the programmes,” Vikas Kishor Suralkar, commissioner, department of school education and literacy.
