Taking strong exception to a decision taken in the zilla panchayat meeting on closing down government schools having less than 25 students in a class and merging them with other schools, members of All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) and Save Public Education Committee staged a protest in Dharwad on Wednesday.

Addressing the protestors, district advisor to the commitee and district president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat Lingaraj Angadi said that instead of providing better amenities to government schools and filling vacant posts, the State government is closing down government schools on the pretext of poor enrollment which is highly regrettable.

In a place which gave birth to hundreds of writers, it is highly condemnable that the zilla panchayat has resorted to closing down schools on such a pretext. Both the BJP and the Congress are bent upon closing down government schools for the benefit of vested interests, he said.

District secretary of AIDSO Shashikala Meti said that instead of taking steps to improve enrollment in government schools, the Dharwad Zilla Panchayat has resorted to killing government schools on the pretext of poor number of students.

She pointed out that in remote areas and villages located adjacent to forests, the admissions will be invariably less than 25 per class. However, that number itself is big for such schools and most of the children in such schools belong to families of farm workers and daily wagers, she said and urged the State government to immediately withdraw the decision and strengthen government schools.

The State government which keeps on repeating that not a single government school will be closed down under the magnet school scheme is now closing down schools through the zilla panchayat. She called upon everyone to launch an agitation to save government schools.

Office-bearers of both the organisations, including Sindhu Koudi, Sharanabasav Gonwar, Bhuvana Ballari, and others led the protest.