In Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district, 180 government school teachers have received show-cause notices due to alarming academic performance among Class 7 students. These students have been struggling with fundamental skills in mathematics and the Kannada language. The notices highlight the urgent need for educational improvements to address these deficiencies.
The action followed surprise inspections conducted by Chikkaballapur MLA Pradeep Eshwar at several government primary schools in the constituency. The department further noted that several schemes had been implemented to improve students’ learning outcomes. During the inspections, some Class 7 students were reportedly unable to solve simple addition and subtraction problems and write basic Kannada alphabets. Chikkaballapura, on September 15, the academic progress of Class 7 students was reviewed after the MLA wrote to the authorities on September 4, according to a show-cause notice issued by the Office of the Block Education Officer. Following the MLA’s direction, Education Coordinators, Block Resource Persons (BRPs) and Cluster Resource Persons (CRPs) conducted tests for Class 7 students in government and aided primary schools across Chikkaballapura Taluk.
The assessment identified students who were “severely lagging behind in learning”, following which a list of the students and the teachers who had taught them was submitted to the education department. It said failure to provide the required education within the stipulated time could leave students behind academically and undermine the objectives of such government programmes.
The notice states that teachers were being asked to explain why students had failed to achieve the minimum expected learning levels. It also directs that disciplinary action be taken as per rules after considering the teachers’ explanations.
